We Have a Situation
by brokenroots
Summary: She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.
1. A Wreck

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,506  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x06, goes AU in the middle of it.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything's a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I felt there were a lot of directions things could have gone in around episode six, and I think a lot of us wanted a certain someone to crash a certain party, and I did at least that much...

Here goes my attempt at a chaptered fic for Necessary Roughness. Eek.

* * *

><p><strong>A Wreck<strong>

"I'm still the same man you fell in love with. I haven't changed," Ray said, and a thousand things went through Dani's mind. Had she always been blind, then? Was he always cheating on her? Had she been that much of a fool? That wasn't love, overlooking all of that. What had she let herself become if she had refused to see it? See what he was—what _she _was. She was not that person. If the blinders existed before, they were off now, and she could see it all so clearly...

She knew where this was going, she knew what it would lead to, and she could not do it. She could not sacrifice her self-respect and her dignity and everything else that she was and take him back. No, because if he meant only _half _of what he'd said to her in that bathroom, then she would be trading her independence and love for condescension and patronizing. He'd be "humoring" her, "letting" her have her career and her patients and her degree when she had earned the degree on her own, had made the career and school work with having kids, and she did not need him to support her or indulge her.

"But _I _have," Dani insisted, patting Ray's chest. She wiped her mouth and turned to walk away. A part of her wanted to go back, but she knew that she couldn't. She couldn't take him back. She _had _changed. She was not willing to be his doormat or project anymore. Whatever he really thought she was, that wasn't her.

She hurried across the room until she almost smacked right into something tall, dark, and unexpected. She stared up at Nico, blinking in confusion. No, this was _not _happening. He was not here. There was no reason for him to be here, so he was _not _here. He had better not be here. And he had better not have seen anything that happened on the dance floor.

Then again, it was Nico. He probably had.

"We have a situation."

"A situation? You interrupt my high school reunion for a _situation?" _she demanded. She swore it was always like this with him. Was there anything he _didn't _consider a situation? "Nico, this had better be one heck of a 'situation' for you to interrupt me right now."

He nodded. "It is."

"Really?" she asked skeptically. He didn't exactly exaggerate, but these people had their own timetables that were not exactly cohesive or even considerate when it came to her life and responsibilities at home. She had other things to take care of besides the Hawks. "Then why aren't you telling me what it is?"

"We don't have time for you to make a scene," Nico said, taking her by the arm. She shook her head, trying to figure out if she should elbow him or drag her feet. She wasn't going to be dragged off no matter what. She was sick of her life being interrupted by some crisis for the team. They had very different definitions of crisis than she did. Pittman had different definitions, and Nico followed them, for reasons she didn't even want to know. It couldn't just be about money, right? Nico didn't seem like a man that cared about money, so what was it about Pittman that had Nico's loyalty? Dani tried to tell herself she didn't want to know. This was not the time, anyway. "I'll explain on the way."

"You'll explain now," another voice interrupted, sounding like someone in a bad movie.

"Ray!" she cried, turning around to look at her soon-to-be ex-husband. She shook her head. This was not happening. Not Nico, not Ray. She was going to wake up and find that this was a nightmare. As soon as Matt showed up with Laura on his arm and the band started playing _It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To, _she'd wake up. "This is none of your business. Go away."

"Not until he explains what's going on," Ray insisted stubbornly. She grimaced, wanting to strangle both of them, Nico for pulling her away and Ray for being Ray. "Who is this guy, anyway, Dani? Is he the reason you won't take me back?"

"That has nothing to do with him," Dani almost shouted, waving vaguely in Nico's direction. She hadn't even _met _the man before the divorce started, and sometimes she wished that she hadn't. Nico had nothing to do with the end of their marriage, though. "It's about me, and it's about you. I am not who I was, and you are who you were. Plus, _you cheated. _More than once. There is no good reason why I should take you back."

"I can think of two. Lindsey and Ray Jay."

"Oh, no, you don't," she objected immediately. She really wanted to hurt him now. "You do _not_ get to bring our children into this—"

"TK was in a car accident," Nico's words derailed her entire rant, and Dani's attention immediately went to him. TK in an accident? How bad? Had he been drunk? What happened? She had so many questions... "Not his fault, for a change. He was T-boned by another driver. His injuries were minor, but he was driving with Cherise and the boy she claims is his son."

Dani winced. This could not be good, no matter what. "How are they?"

"The boy has a broken arm and a few abrasions, but the mother's condition is serious. She may not come out of surgery, and even if she does, there is a chance of brain damage," Nico explained. Dani shook her head. This was horrible. "TK was driving. Even though he was not at fault—"

"I know. He must feel so responsible," she agreed. Damn it, he should not have been driving at all. He would never learn. Still, TK needed her. She had a promise to keep. "You know where they are? You're going to take me straight there?"

Nico nodded. "Car is waiting outside."

"You're not leaving. Dani, you're _not _leaving," Ray insisted, and she frowned at him. Who was he to tell her where she was or was not going? He had no say here. "I don't care what kind of story this guy gave you, but you can't use it to run away from me. We're not finished talking."

"Yes, we are."

Ray grabbed her arm as she tried to leave, and she looked down at his hand coldly. Nico moved around, removing Ray's hand in a move so fast she barely saw it, twisting it up behind Ray's back. "We do not have time for you to hassle the good doctor. Touch her again, and I will snap your arm in two pieces, understood?"

"Nico, that was completely unnecessary," she told him, taking hold of his arm firmly and dragging him away from Ray. The sooner they were out of this room, the better. No more music, no more memories, no more stupidity. She stopped to yank open the door. "You didn't have to do that."

Nico gave her a slight shrug as he followed her outside. "Maybe not."

"Maybe?"

Nico just shrugged again as he went around to the driver's side of the car in front of the door. She shook her head again. When was he going to learn boundaries? Ray was not really that bad of a man. Sure, he'd cheated, but he didn't deserve to have his arm broken in two. She got in the passenger side and pulled the seat belt down, buckling it. "You said TK's injuries were minor. How minor?"

"He'll be sore for a few days from the air bag opening into his chest. A cut on his forehead. That's it," Nico reported. "I am afraid the damage will be more psychological than anything else."

She nodded. She'd agree with that. "Thank you. For coming to get me. You could just have called."

"I had be sure that you would come."

She frowned. "What makes you think I wouldn't?"

He didn't answer.

* * *

><p>By the time that she got to the hospital, Dani was quietly fuming. Nico had refused to answer her question, had actually not said a single word since she asked. He resolutely ignored her, not responding to any of her questions, including whether or not he heard her at all. She was now even more certain that he had deep psychological issues, none of which he was willing to deal with.<p>

She forced herself not to think about Nico anymore. She needed to focus on TK. The accident would be traumatic enough, even if TK was one of the ones who wouldn't admit to any trauma. She didn't have any idea what affect the rest of it would have on him. Drivers tended to feel responsible after an accident. They always felt there was something they could have done to prevent the accident. Passengers helpless. They felt powerless to change what had happened to them. Frequently, they blamed the driver, compounding his guilt, whether it was reasonable or not.

She stopped in the waiting room. "TK?"

He looked up from his hands. She could see the small bandage on his forehead, the one Nico had mentioned, and his shirt was open. It was hard for her to see any bruises, but she had to assume that they were there. "Doctor D. Didn't think you'd come."

"I told you I'd bring her," Nico told him, and TK nodded. Dani glanced back at him. She hadn't realized that he'd caught up to her. She'd left him to park the car, too pissed to spend another minute with him, and now he was here. She sighed. He needed to find somewhere else to be because she could not do this with him here.

"I know, I know," TK muttered. He lowered his head again. "I know I promised not to cross the lines, respect the boundaries, Doctor. D. I shouldn't have sent Nico for you."

Dani's eyebrows went up, and Nico shook his head. "I told you that I'd get her and that you were overreacting to the boundaries because you're still in shock."

TK didn't answer that, but it didn't really matter. She knew that his head was all over the place right now. He was going through so much, and it was all over his face. Even as a therapist, Dani felt a bit overwhelmed. She sat down and touched his hand. "I'm here. I want to be here. Believe me, that reunion was not what it was cracked up to be."

"I don't know what to do," TK admitted. He shook his head. "It was just—one minute we were hanging out at the park, doing our thing, and then next, everyone's hungry. Mad hungry, crazy hungry. So we're just going for some food, right? A couple blocks up to the kid's favorite restaurant, that's all it was going to be. Not a long trip or nothing. Just... The light was green. Green. Green means go."

"It's going to be okay, TK. These things happen. Accidents happen," she reminded him gently. Nico moved away, and Dani felt herself relax a little, more able to focus on TK. "What you need to know, even if you're not ready to accept it yet, is that this is not your fault."

"I shouldn't have been driving."

"That's true, since they took away your license and you've already been in trouble for it before," she agreed, and he moaned miserably, "but that is not the issue now. You did what any reasonable driver would have done and went through that green light. That was not an error on your part. There was no way you could have known that someone would run the red light."

"But I shouldn't have been driving. If I hadn't been driving, none of this would have happened."

"You don't know that. No one knows that. It could be that things would have been worse if you hadn't been the one driving. You don't know. I don't know. No one does," she said firmly. She tightened her grip on his hand. "Listen to me. These things that you are feeling are natural. They are understandable. You need to feel them, all of them, just let them happen, and we will get you through this, each and every one of those feelings, all that is going on around you, okay?"

TK nodded distractedly. She had a feeling that he wasn't really hearing anything that she said, but that didn't matter. It didn't make what she was saying any less valid. Maybe some of it would get down to his subconscious, and even if it didn't, she was here for him. That was what mattered.

Still, it was going to be a very, very long night.

She caught a whiff of coffee on the air and looked down to see a cup sitting next to her chair. She was going to need that to get through the night, several of those, actually, but how the hell had it gotten there? She frowned a little, thinking that the black she'd seen for a brief moment—just before it disappeared around the corner—had to have been Nico. He'd brought her coffee. He'd put it so close to her that he could have touched her, had probably breathed on her. She hadn't even _heard _him.

She suppressed a slight chill. That had to be the SEAL training, right? She was going to have to tell him not to do that to her when she saw him next. She didn't scare easily, but that didn't make it unsettling. As nice as the gesture was—Nico thought of everything, didn't he?—she didn't want him to do this stealth stuff around her.

Dani reached down and picked up the coffee with her free hand. It was surprisingly good for hospital coffee. Had Nico gone somewhere else to get this for her? That was above and beyond, really. She reminded herself that coffee or no coffee, she was still mad at him. And she was here for TK, damn it. Nico should be the absolute last thing on her mind right now, and yet she had to fight her instinct to go after him.

_TK. Here for TK. He's the situation. He's the patient. Focus on your patient._

Why the hell was that so difficult?

If she was going to have someone keeping her mind busy, distracted from her patient, wouldn't it be Ray, her ex-husband, after all that happened tonight? She'd actually _kissed _Ray. TK was badly traumatized. He needed her.

Nico was a problem that was just going to have to wait.


	2. A Wrong Impression

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,691  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x06, goes AU in the middle of it.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I admit, the wrong impression was part of the reason for writing this story...

* * *

><p><strong>A Wrong Impression<strong>

"My phone has been ringing off the hook. Some of these people haven't spoken to me in years, so why are they calling now?" Dani demanded setting down her phone, shaking her head in disbelief. She pulled her robe close around her, running a hand through her hair. Where was the coffee? Why were these people harassing her? She did not need this. She had been up all night with TK, and she hadn't been able to sleep because of the nonstop ringing.

Jeanette looked at her. Dani barely remembered letting her in. Maybe one of the kids had. She didn't know anymore. Jeanette should be off with Gerald, right? Why was she here? "You really can't guess? Everyone wants to know who the stud was that kicked Ray's ass over you."

"Stud? That kicked Ray's ass? Over me? What, _Nico? _That was not—" Dani stopped, trying to figure out the best way to handle this. She had not forgotten what happened last night. It wasn't something that went away, but it was definitely not what they thought it was. "That was about work. Yes, Nico _ did _strong arm him a little. That's what Nico does for a living, from what I understand. He either intimidates people or he pays them off, and he makes the team's problems go away."

"Really?" Jeanette was intrigued. She had that predatory tone in her voice again. She was looking forward to hearing more. She found it all sexy, didn't she? "Is he a hit man?"

"Closest thing to it," Dani muttered, shaking her head. She was not awake enough for this. She needed something stronger than coffee. This had to be more of the same nightmare, right? "People really think me and Nico...?"

Jeanette nodded. She turned her laptop toward her, showing her a picture, taken without Dani's knowledge, of her right after she'd bumped into him. With her mouth open in shock like that, her eyes wide, she didn't look like she was upset to see him. She almost looked like her heart had skipped a beat seeing him.

"Explain, Missy."

"I bumped into him." Even to Dani, that sounded lame. The pictures were going to give everyone the wrong idea. They should be banned or destroyed or something. Had Jeanette already posted these somewhere? Would deleting them be enough?

Jeanette clicked the mouse and another picture came up, this time when Nico had grabbed her arm. Dani should have looked pissed then, too, but the hesitation she'd had then, picturing the satisfaction of elbowing him, left her with a small smile that made her seem all too pleased with the situation.

"I was thinking of elbowing him."

"Uh huh," Jeanette agreed. She pushed the button again. That was Nico about to break Ray's arm. Dani just shook her head. She had already explained this. Nico was a strong arm, an intimidator. That was nothing unusual for him. "I thought the steamiest part of the evening would be you and Ray on the dance floor—well, Gerald and me in the bathroom, before I knew that he was a woman—but you managed to beat that."

"That is me hauling Nico off after he totally overreacted and almost broke Ray's arm," Dani objected, pointing to the picture. "What is so steamy about—"

"I am not the only one who got the impression you were taking him away, not to yell at him, but to have hot, angry near violent sex, okay?"

"I do not believe this," Dani muttered. This was the last thing she needed right now. "Everyone is deliberately misinterpreting what they saw, and if you help them perpetuate this myth and—What was that about Gerald being a woman?"

Jeanette nodded. "He is. Or she is. Whatever. It was disappointing to learn that what I thought would be a romance would be—you know, it was strangely flattering, being his inspiration, but it wasn't what I hoped for."

"I'm sorry," Dani said, touching her friend's arm. Jeanette was taking this better than Dani would have thought. She was impressed—and still in a bit of shock. Gerald was a woman. That she had not seen coming. Then again, Jeanette's interest in Gerald had been a bit of a shock, too. "I really am."

"It turned out okay, and I had plenty of entertainment."

Dani's sympathy quickly faded as she glared at her long-time friend. She didn't find this misinterpretation at all amusing. She was not having a good day, and all she wanted was some sleep. At this rate, she might end up strangling someone. _"Entertainment?"_

"I have another picture."

Dani was not about to look. She stopped Jeanette's hand before she could click again. She opened her mouth to say something when she heard a crash in the other room. She rolled her eyes as Jeanette clicked the button, giving her a smug smile. Dani chose to ignore it, since it was just another picture of her and Nico. She rose, walking toward the door.

"Yo, Doctor D!" TK called, and she winced, drawing the robe tighter around her. She had to be in some kind of nightmare between the pictures and the misinterpretation and the rumors that were going to follow it and now TK.

"TK, what are you _doing _here?" she demanded as she reached the door.

"Well, they let my boy Devin here go from the hospital," TK began, and she frowned a little as she heard that. She knew that it was an old speech pattern of TK's, the use of 'my boy.' She'd heard him call Ray Jay that before. Ray Jay understood, but that little boy might not. He might think that TK really was his father—and that had not yet been proven one way or another.

"And you came here, to my house?" Dani asked, frowning. He should not be here. He should not have that child with him. This was not good. "TK, do I have to go over boundaries again?"

He looked at her, an extra special, extra pathetic one. "Come on, Doctor D. I need help. I don't know nothing about taking care of kids. They're small and fun and stuff, but I don't know. You're a mom. Help me out here. Please?"

Dani looked at him and resigned herself to another long day.

* * *

><p>Hours later, dressed as professionally as she could manage without putting on a dress suit, feeling like she was drowning again, still running on little more than coffee and fumes, Dani stood in her backyard watching Devin, TK, and Ray Jay play catch. She should have stopped this. She shouldn't have let any of it go on, but the lines had gotten blurred a long time ago, and she wasn't sure that she could ever put them in the right place again.<p>

She was aware that her clothes were an attempt to control some part of the circumstances she found herself in, to have some air of authority that she felt was lacking. Of course it was. Her patient was playing with her son and a boy that might be his son in her yard. Her best friend had gotten out a video camera and was filming the whole thing. It was cute, admittedly, but Dani couldn't help the sense of failure, couldn't stop worrying.

Some might say that was all she did. It wasn't true. She knew how to do more than worry, but she had to be concerned. This broke so many rules, crossed so many boundaries. This was her home. This was her family. TK was her patient. That poor boy out there was caught in the middle of something that he had no way of understanding. Right now, he thought it was great that he could hang out with a professional football player, that he could play catch with one, even as awkward as it was with a broken arm. He didn't have any idea about the complicated situation he was in, didn't know that he should not be here. For so many reasons.

How had TK even been able to leave the hospital with that boy? He had no legal papers, and the hospital should have been better about enforcing that rule. Hell, she should have called social services or something herself. That boy might not be TK's son. Cherise had some family, didn't she? Nico had mentioned someone, Dani thought. She'd have to get that information from him, get Devin back to his family or some responsible agency. It was great to see TK interacting with the boy. Really, it was. It just couldn't last.

Damn Laura and wanting to delay that test. They needed those results. They needed them fast. They needed some kind of solution to this mess. It couldn't go on like this. People were bound to get hurt. Hearts would be broken. So much pain...

"You're squinting again."

She almost jumped out of her skin at the voice right next to her ear. "Nico! What the hell?"

He looked at her, and she thought she saw some amusement in his eyes. "I heard voices out back and walked up to you. You did seem lost in thought. Must not have heard me."

"Like I didn't hear you last night at the hospital? You walked right up to me and left me coffee—more than once—and I didn't hear you. Not once," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Don't do that to me again."

"I cannot be held responsible if you fail to hear me because you're lost in thought."

She made a face. He looked strangely unaffected by all of this, but she knew he'd been at the hospital at least as late as she had been. She was a mess, and he looked like he always did. "Do you ever sleep?"

"Did you?"

"Not really. TK is at my house, and my phone has been—Never mind," she said, cutting herself off before she could start babbling and tell him all about the wrong impression everyone at the reunion had of the two of them. "What about Cherise? Do we know anything more about her condition? What about her mother? Is she coming? Is she going to take care of Devin?"

"Cherise is still critical. She is being kept in a medically induced coma to minimize the damage and expedite the healing, or so they tell me. As for her mother, she has been unreachable."

Dani folded her arms over her chest. "Are you the one who arranged for TK to take care of Devin?"

Nico shook his head. "My advice to him was not to start something he couldn't finish."

She didn't like this one bit. Nico had better not be lying about this. If he arranged to get that boy out of the hospital for TK... "So, what, the hospital took pity on him? They know better than that. It had to take a lot of money to—"

"Money that TK has," Nico interrupted. Dani let out a breath. That was true enough. TK had a certain sort of charm, fame, and money. He had enough influence to do it on his own. She had resisted the idea of leaving TK alone, but then she had reluctantly let his chauffeur drive him home to get some rest. She should have known that he would have gone back. She wanted to blame that on lack of sleep. She just should have known better.

"What about the other results?"

"The paternity lab has not confirmed or denied anything."

She cursed. Nico put his hands in his pockets. She looked over at him. "The longer this goes on, the more attached TK will become to that boy. The issue is already confused because of the claim of paternity. If that proves to be false, the fallout could be devastating. The psychological issues here are complex and—few people are prepared for parenthood even when they plan for a child. TK is in no state to assume that responsibility."

"Ordinarily, this would be the moment where you would expect to be told to start preparing him for it," Nico began, and Dani shot him a look. "I didn't actually say it. I know that can't be done. Being a parent is something you learn over time. It's a slow process. Everyone has their own way of doing it, and their own pace for learning. While he's not ready for it, TK is capable of learning."

"The Hawks don't want that. TK is not supposed to be a father figure. They want him focused on the game, not on a kid," she said, a bit of disgust creeping into her voice. She hadn't expected Nico to voice an opinion like that. Most people would think of TK more like a lost cause. No, she didn't feel that TK was ready for a child, but she could see that there was a part of him that wanted Devin to be his son. He wanted to spend time with that child. He was a big kid himself.

"It is not my realm of expertise, but I would say that—if it were possible—it would be best if TK dealt with those underlying issues first, before he added on the responsibility of parenthood. This boy does not deserve to have that father figure ripped away from him shortly after he gets it," Nico said, and she looked over at him, surprised to hear him say anything like that. Then again, why should she really be surprised? Nico was a man who hid more than he would ever show anyone. "This situation is a time bomb waiting to explode."

There he went again, calling it a situation. Not that it wasn't, but she thought she might have to copy the section from the thesaurus for the word and give it to him, attempt to expand his vocabulary. He could use it, and it might even make him smile a little. He had a nice smile.

She pushed that thought out of her head and focused back on topic. TK, the accident, the boy. That was the situation that needed to be handled right now, not Nico's lack of vocabulary variety. _A man of few words. _She grimaced at the bad pun and cleared her throat.

"What about the press? Is there a lot of it? What spin did Laura put on the accident? Did she bury it?" Dani asked. She hadn't looked yet herself, but she had a feeling that when TK saw the coverage, things would only get worse.

"For now, the details haven't made it to the press, but that won't last. She is attempting to put a 'spin' as you call it on the angle about the boy, some sort of charity thing that TK would have been telling everyone about at a later time," Nico explained. "If it turns out that the boy is not his son, I assume she'll let it be buried."

"And then what? He goes back home with a single mother who is in debt and desperate, who resorted to extremes to get her son a father? That's it? Forgotten, just like that?" Dani demanded, shaking her head. She reached over and touched Nico's arm. "There has to be more than that. Not just for the boy but for TK's sake, too."

Nico looked uncomfortable. "The Hawks are covering Cherise's medical expenses and those of her son. She will not have to worry about that. There is a generous settlement available for her as well."

"Making her disappear?"

Nico's gaze turned on Dani. "Are you aware that your friend has been filming us since shortly after I arrived?"

Dani's eyes widened as she looked over at Jeanette. "What? No. She's not. Is she? Damn it. I am going to kill her."


	3. A Judgment Call

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,033  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x07, goes AU in the middle of 1x06, though.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I finally worked myself up to Nico's POV. It was a bit intimidating, and I hope I did it justice.

* * *

><p><strong>A Judgment Call<strong>

"I am telling you, it is all in the subtext," Jeanette insisted. Dani continued to glare at her friend, had not stopped glaring since Nico told her about the video. The pictures were bad enough—and digital, so Dani couldn't burn them, but a _video? _This had gone beyond a simple misunderstanding and into something much, much worse. Jeanette's behavior was extremely childish—maybe that reunion had gone a bit _too _much to her head—but this was not high school anymore. The humiliation of liking some boy that didn't like you back was not what Dani was dealing with here. That would almost have been easier than the complicated mess this was.

She was trying desperately to hold onto some sense of professionalism here. She had been trying hard to stay firm with that because she wanted more with Matt, and their relationship couldn't go further, not like this. Especially now that Laura was—Never mind. Dani didn't want to think about that. She had too much going on right now. The divorce, the reunion, seeing Ray again—she had almost fallen back into the old patterns and her old life again. Her personal life was a disaster.

The professional one wasn't much better. The lines had been blurred, especially with TK. She didn't know how to make him respect boundaries, and she didn't know that therapy would have any chance of success when he didn't see her in the right way. They both needed those rules, those boundaries. That was how the relationship between therapist and patient was supposed to work. It wasn't the way it should be. She couldn't keep this up, not without losing all authority, all respect. Adding in a supposedly unprofessional relationship with Nico was the last thing she needed. Not only would it make Matt think that she was a hypocrite, it would blur everything so badly that she would never truly be able to help her patients because her authority would not exist. She wouldn't be a professional, a therapist; she would be some woman that people talked to about their problems every once and a while.

"There is no subtext here, Jeanette. There is a delusion, and there is reality," Dani said, filling herself another coffee even though she knew better. "Nico and I were discussing the situation with TK, the boy, and the boy's mother. It had nothing to do with anything you supposedly see in the subtext."

"I'm going to play this without the audio, and you tell me what _you _see. You're the trained one, you recognize the subtext for what it is with your patients. It's the little things that add up and tell you what's going on. Well, apply that here. Go on. I _dare _you," Jeanette said, pushing the button.

Dani shook her head. It hadn't taken long at all for Jeanette to put the video on her laptop, and so now even if Dani wrecked the camera there was at least one other copy of it. She couldn't believe this. This was the last thing she needed right now. She was only lucky that Nico had gone before she was subjected to more of this crap.

"Notice anything about the way you two are standing? How close it is?" Jeanette began, pointing it out on the screen.

"Nico is the silent type," Dani said. "If he didn't stand close, I wouldn't even hear him half the time, I'm sure."

Jeanette's look was one of disbelief. "Okay, even if I grant you that, there's this. I'm not even going to point at you this time. Look at the way that he looks at you."

"Nico looks like that at everyone."

"I don't think so," Jeanette said, shaking her head. She gave Dani a pointed look. "See? I can look at you with focus and intent, and it does _not _look like that. There's more there, Dani. That man is definitely looking at you with something more than his usual intensity. I'm not denying the intensity, not by any means, but if I had a man looking at me the way that man looks at you—I don't know. I'd run off with him in a heartbeat, I bet."

Dani sighed. "Ray used to look at me like that. And now here I am."

"Don't tell me you haven't grown. Don't tell me that you don't think the kids were worth it. And—_Please," _Jeanette drew out the word, exaggerating the _puh _and making the second part sound like _sleaze. _"I have known Ray about as long as you have, and you know that he didn't look at you with half that intensity. I swear, this one is fascinated, not just by your body, but by your mind, too."

"Nico is suspicious of everything I do. He's not big on my line of work, and that has been clear from the beginning. Though... he's strangely supportive in some ways—Never mind. Stop looking at me like that. Even if there _is _subtext, it doesn't matter. I have to keep my relationship with Nico as professional as possible. I don't need everyone thinking that we're involved when we're not."

Jeanette sighed. "You and your rules. You need to have some fun."

Fun. Dani would have pictured herself with Matt if she was going for fun, before Laura came along, and she'd figured if she messed up the boundaries, it would be with him. Nico was not—okay, her brain was _not _allowed to go there. "Nico is the Hawks' fixer. He does everything except therapy, and that means our jobs are too closely related to _not _have a conflict of interest if—and this is a very _big _if—we were to change our relationship. Right now, it's a very tenuous one. I don't think I'd even call him a friend, not really. Besides, I have plenty of issues with his methods and have no idea if I can trust him. That is no basis for a relationship, subtext or not."

Her best friend gave her a long look and then paused the recording on the moment when Dani had touched Nico's arm. "At least admit to the subtext here."

"There is nothing—"

"Dude, Doctor D, you shacking up with my man Nico? Nice."

Dani winced as she heard TK's voice behind her. She took a deep breath and turned around to face him. He reached for a piece of fruit from the counter and bit into it. "I heard that you had a thing with Mattie D, but I guess now that he's got that fine blond, you got left in the cold? Harsh, man, harsh. Could do worse than Nico, though."

"I am not dating Nico. I am not shacked up with Nico, either," Dani began, hoping that none of her children had heard any of the conversation. "And we need to talk. About Devin. This cannot continue."

"Sorry, Doctor D. I was just coming by to tell you that the little D Man and I were leaving. Check you later," TK said, leaving the room.

Dani clenched her fists and forced herself to calm down. This was exactly why she had been dreading. She could not work like this. It didn't help anyone, especially not her.

* * *

><p>"TK, wait!" Dani called, running up to the car. At least this time he had the good sense to have a chauffeur driving them around. She would have been happier about that if he wasn't making poor decisions in the other areas of his life. "I know you had fun playing around with Devin and Ray Jay today, but that is <em>not <em>all that this is. You can't do this. You should never have taken him from the hospital in the first place."

TK gave her a look. "He might be my kid. Shouldn't I be getting to know him? Doing those dad things? Playing with him? What is so wrong with that?"

"I am not saying that you shouldn't get to know him," she began, trying to find the right way to phrase this. "I just want you to think this through. First of all, you are _not _the boy's legal guardian. You should not have removed him from the hospital like that—"

"What was I supposed to do, leave him to rot there?" TK demanded, shaking his head. He would never have considered doing that. "He's a kid. He don't want to be stuck hanging around a hospital like that. Sick people and dead people and all that—a kid doesn't belong there. He would just be sitting around worrying about his mom, and no one's letting him see her, so what good is it if he's there? He should be out where someone's taking care of him."

"I am not arguing that," Dani said, and TK started to protest again. She held up a hand. "No, let me finish. I _do _think that Devin needs someone to look after him. I don't like seeing children in hospitals any more than you do. I'm a mother. Kids in hospitals terrify me, okay? Still, there are ways that this is supposed to go. There are channels and protocols to follow. I _know _that you have enough money and influence—if not you, then the Hawks—to hire a lawyer that would convince a judge in a legal way to grant you temporary custody of the boy while his mother is in the hospital, pending the paternity results."

"Fine. You want me to get a lawyer? Then I'll get a damn lawyer," TK snapped, taking out his phone and hitting the speed dial. Dani figured that button went straight to Nico. She put her hand on the phone before TK could talk.

"I am not just talking about the legal issues here. My job is looking after your well-being. I am _deeply _concerned about the impact that all of this will have on you, and not just on you but on that boy, too," she told him. TK glared at her. She knew that this was probably the last thing she should say, but she had to call him out on this. "Answer me one question, TK, and then I will let you leave, but I want you to think about this. I want you to think good and hard and long before you answer."

TK gave her another look, that one that said she was full of crap and making too much of things, and she only wished that she was. "Fine. One question, Doc, and then we're done."

She had a lot more that she should say, but she was trying hard not to lose him completely right now. She had a feeling that if she pushed him too hard now, he'd go in the opposite direction. It was a thin line between enabling and helping, and she was probably on the wrong side of it, but she was going to try. All she could do was try. Therapy was not an exact science, after all. Not everything worked for everyone because everyone was different and reacted in different ways to the trauma, to the medication, and even just to _talking. _

"What I want to know is," she paused, knowing she was going to regret this, "what would you do—what will you do or what would you be doing now if those results were already here? If they said that Devin was not your son, how would you react?"

"What does that matter? We don't know."

"I am afraid that it _does _matter. It matters a lot. Think about it, TK. You went through the system. You know what it's like not to have a home and a family that you can count on. What happens when that boy starts thinking he's got a great dad in you—only you're not his father?" she asked, and TK's expression darkened. "That is what you need to ask yourself. That is why you _have _to ask the hard question. You have to know how you would react if you knew he wasn't yours. Would you just walk away? Is that all?"

"No. I wouldn't walk away. Look, I'm here, aren't I?"

"You're here now. Because Devin was in a car accident. An accident that you feel responsible for. His mother can't be here for him, so you've stepped in. That would be great if there weren't concerns about why you're doing or what you would be doing if this hadn't happened."

"You don't think I can do this, do you? That's what you're really saying. TK can't take care of no kid. Well, yeah, Doc, you're right. I don't know much about 'em, but I'm gonna try, and I'm not going to let you stop me."

"No, TK, that's not what I meant," she started to clarify, again, but he wouldn't listen. He got in the car and shut the door, and she tried to open it again, but the car pulled away before she could. "Damn it."

* * *

><p>He was being followed. Nico had become accustomed to certain feelings, had developed keen instincts that he trusted and had proved reliable many times over the years, and one of them was that—knowing when he was being followed. Or watched. Some people called that the hairs rising on the back of their neck, but it was not quite like that for him. The hairs on the back of his neck rose for entirely different reasons, none of which were relative to the current situation. He looked up at the mirror, watching the dark sedan change lanes as he did. Confirmation. This was definitely a tail.<p>

Nico assessed the issues that he was currently handling for the Pittman Group and quickly settled on TK and the boy as the root cause of the surveillance. Though the sedan wanted to look official, like a government vehicle, it was not one, lacking both the plates and the additional accessories that made it official. As discreet as unmarked cars were supposed to be, they all gave themselves away. This one was different, ordinary, and the driver was no professional. He decided to see how dedicated his tail was and took the next exit, watching the car make the same turn. He knew this area, though, and he could manipulate the back roads here to his advantage, most likely losing the other car in the process. That was fine.

He had to think that the other vehicle was most likely driven by an overzealous reporter. Laura Radcliffe was handling all of the Hawks' PR, including the car accident, and she had made certain that plenty of leaks were given in addition to the official release, but it was possible that someone had chosen to dig deeper.

What concerned Nico the most at the moment was that the car had been following him since he left the Santino house. The nature of the work that Dani Santino did was by nature and law required to be private, and though he had suspected several leaks from that house and had caught the children in an abuse of their mother's association with the organization—enabled by TK—it was a part of his responsibility to the Pittman Group that he keep her office and home secure.

He had warred against his better judgment in letting her handle the situation with her friend filming them—Nico knew that she had been filming TK and the children before he arrived—and now he regretted his failure to take custody of that video. He did not know what it was about the woman that made him go against his instincts, against his judgment. He left far too much in her hands, and it bothered him. He did not doubt that she was capable of handling things, but he did not like it when things were out of his control.

_You are such a control freak, _he could hear Juliette saying now, a familiar complaint. She had accused her father of the same thing, and the significance of that had not entirely been lost on Nico. He had tried to warn TK—don't start what you can't finish. Nico's relationship with Pittman's daughter was not all that dissimilar to the situation that TK was now facing. There was no question of Juliette being his daughter, no, but Nico had somehow become entangled in her problems, had taken responsibility for her when her father did not—or would not.

That reminder—that he was not and never would be her father—was always there when it came down to it, and TK would hit that brick wall if he continued his involvement in that boy's life. TK was not ready to handle the responsibility. Though Santino would probably disagree, Nico believed that TK would push the boy away at the first real crisis. Right now, the receiver was still reacting to the accident, but when that caught up with him, things would change.

Nico's phone rang. Speak of the devil. That was TK. Nico would not be surprised if the other man was calling to have Nico take the kid away—out of sight, out of mind—and make all of this disappear.

He pulled to the side of the road where the shoulder was slightly wider, using the trees for cover as he got out, taking the phone with him. He had answered, but TK did not seem to be speaking to Nico. He let the connection continue, keeping track of the conversation as the car that had been following drew closer.

The call disconnected, and he stepped out into the road and let the driver slam on his brakes, trying not to hit him. There was plenty of distance given the speed the car was traveling, very little risk. He crossed around to the driver's side and knocked on the window.

Shaken, the driver rolled it down. "Are you _insane? _I almost hit you."

"You were not even close," Nico disagreed. "Now tell me why you were following me."


	4. A Wound

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,517  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x07, goes AU in the middle of 1x06, though.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: It is interesting just how many turns a single conversation can take. And I wanted to leave some of it obscured for now...

* * *

><p><strong>A Wound<strong>

"You just left here, didn't you?" Dani asked, frowning as she opened her door to Nico. He did not answer, just moved past her, inviting himself in. She frowned. Despite his tendency to show up at her house at any hour and to enter her car without permission, he did respect the boundary of her front door. He had never just invited himself in before.

"Nico?"

"This situation has taken an unexpected turn," he said, sitting down on the nearest chair—the one in her office. He winced a little, opening his coat and adjusting his position. If Dani didn't know any better, she'd say he was hurt. That seemed absurd, though. Nico gave off this feeling, this sense that he was untouchable.

"Unexpected, how?" she asked, studying him from the doorway.

"It would seem that some confusion has arisen over a certain status that—would you mind bringing me a first aid kit?" he asked, and she nodded automatically.

Then she stopped in the middle of turning to leave. "What happened?"

"I underestimated something. That happens. I would rather not stain your couch, and I am sure you would prefer it if I did not, either."

She stared at him for a second before crossing over, pushing his hands aside and ignoring his protests as she found the hole in his shirt. It was too dark to see the blood, but the fabric was soaked. She looked up at him. "What happened?"

"It is merely a hazard of my job. I assure you that I would not have returned here if another alternative had been closer. Can I have the kit now? I am capable of bandaging myself."

She shook her head. "Absolutely not. You sit there and you do not move, understand me, Mister? You are going to stay put and let me take care of this. I know—I mean, I just _know—_that you will try and make this less than it is, and I am not going to let that happen. You need proper care for this."

He caught her hand. "You are not a medical doctor, Dr. Santino. And my health is not your concern."

"I'm going to make it my concern. Just like you make it your concern when it comes to every little thing in my family," she told him, pulling her hand free. He gave her a look as she got to her feet. "I mean it. Don't move."

"Honestly, what do you think you could do to make me stay?"

She wasn't really sure there was anything, but she didn't say that. She turned, feigning confidence and conviction that he would listen to her that she didn't feel. She wouldn't be surprised to come back and find him gone. That would be so like him, leaving.

She grabbed what she thought she'd need from the bathroom, loading up more than she could really carry, but she didn't drop any of it as she made her way back to the office. She put her supplies on the table, catching his eye. He seemed amused.

"You could have at least made this easier by taking off the coat and shirt," she told him. He shrugged, slipping the jacket off and setting it to the side. He gave a slight grimace as he did. She hadn't expected him to stay, and she had a hard time accepting that he would reveal so much. "Maybe it would be better if you lay back on the couch."

Nico gave her a look, so she shoved him back. It was starting to worry her, just how cooperative he was being. He should have been verbally sparring with her, pushing her away. He had the advantage physically, and he was trained, too. Look what he'd done to Ray. How had he ended up like this? All he had said was that he'd underestimated something.

She grabbed a cloth, put the disinfectant on it, and moved closer to him, moving his legs so she could get a good look at his side. "Are you crazy? This is going to need stitches."

"It's a flesh wound."

"You surprise me. I wouldn't have thought of you as a Monty Python kind of guy."

"You don't strike me as a Python kind of girl."

"Kids," she reminded him, and he nodded, holding back any cry he might have made as she touched the cloth to his side, cleaning it up. She really did think that wound needed stitches. The team had a doctor, didn't they? Nico probably saw that man all the time, kept the injuries off the record. She sighed. How often did this kind of stuff happen to him? Was he injured on the job a lot? She had really only seen things that were more or less tame, but then who knew what he'd actually done to the loan shark that was after her poker player? Who knew what he did to the ones that wouldn't take money?

"How did this happen?"

"I told you."

"No, you were obscure and vague, which is very you but not all that helpful for figuring out how to take care of you," she said, and he smiled slightly. She shook her head. "What, is it embarrassing?"

"In that I let my guard down, perhaps, yes," he agreed. "What I thought was an overzealous reporter was very much... not. As I said, I underestimated things. This situation is not what it seems."

She frowned, prepping a bandage to cover the cut. She still felt that it needed stitches, and she wasn't going to let him get away with not getting them. "The one with TK?"

"I don't really think this has anything to do with TK," Nico admitted, catching her hand before she could put the bandage on. The way he looked at her made her feel very uncomfortable, though she wasn't sure what it was that really bothered her. The intensity? Jeanette had pointed it out earlier, but this was not the same as the look she'd frozen the video on earlier. "This is potentially more—Xeno will be staying with you until further notice. Do not argue with me about this."

"I'm not going to agree to _anything _until you tell me why you think I need protection," she said, and he started to get up. She shifted to the side, putting her weight onto his legs to keep him down. "Explain. Now. Remember, I have ways of making you talk."

"Hey, Dani, I am going to head out—oh, wow, excuse me for interrupting," Jeanette said, and Dani cursed when she realized that this would _not _look good. Nico had her hand, and Dani was on top of him. His shirt was open, but she doubted her friend was going to pay any attention to the cut or bandage and would have yet another wrong impression about all of this. "Sorry. Really."

"Remind your friend that she is not a medical doctor, and we will be even," Nico said, trying to move. Dani pushed him back down, knowing that she was going to hear about this for a long, long time. Jeanette would _not _let this go.

"You need stitches, and you are not leaving until you get this bandage on."

"I can help hold him down if you need me to," Jeanette offered, and Nico sighed. "Still, it looks to me like you have this all under control."

She smirked and left the doorway, and Nico glared at the space where she had been. Dani pointed a finger at him. "No making her disappear. She's my friend. She's my very, very good friend, and I will never forgive you if something happens to her."

He shook his head. "I do not always make people disappear. I do think that she could use some... clarification, if nothing else. She seemed to have an erroneous impression of this situation."

"Why is everything a situation for you?"

"Because they all are. Have you looked at the definition of the word lately? I cannot quote exactly but the basics are essentially this: _the way something sits in relation to the things around it; a person's position or place of employment or in life; where they are with respect to conditions and circumstances; the relative position or combination of circumstances at a certain moment, a critical, trying, or unusual state of affairs; or a set of affairs at a stage in the action of a story. _Most of life falls into one of those categories."

She frowned. "Did you memorize all that? When? Why?"

"Your thesaurus is sitting open right there. I figured it was on your mind, and I have a memory that is close to photogenic," he explained. "I don't _have _to memorize anything. You have about two seconds before I knock you onto the floor, so if you insist on putting that bandage on, you had better do it now."

"Let go of my hand so that I can do this properly, then," she said, and he looked down like he had completely forgotten he was holding onto her hand. She supposed his memory wasn't all that photogenic after all. But damn, if it was—the things he knew about her, about her family, none of that would ever go away. She really didn't like the sound of that.

He let go, and she set the bandage down, wiping down the cut with the disinfectant again. He hissed in surprise, and she almost smiled at that. She didn't like the look of it. It had to be at least four inches long and still bleeding. She put the bandage on. "You still need stitches."

He turned over, carrying through with his threat to knock her off the couch, and she cursed as she hit the ground. He extended a hand to her, and she took it reluctantly, letting him help her up. "I do not need stitches."

"You don't have to act macho with me, and I'm sure you know a doctor who will keep it off record if that's what you're worried about," she told him. He gave her another look, and she was sick of his stubbornness and still smarting from being dropped on the floor, so she poked him right in the bandage. He almost doubled over, and she shook her head. "You see? You need more than something covering that."

"Not when I'm not around apparently vicious therapists," he snapped, rubbing at his side. He reached for his coat, and she moved in front of him. She knew she was pushing this too far, but he was injured. He'd bled on her damn couch, and he still hadn't told her _why. _It was something that had to do with her somehow or he wouldn't want Xeno protecting her and the kids. "Do not make me move you a second time."

"You came to my house. You're stuck with putting up with me, and you are getting in the car and seeing a real doctor. Now."

"Do you realize you just implied that you're not a real doctor?"

She grabbed a hold of his arm and started dragging him to the door. She did not want to deal with this. She didn't need it. She was a doctor, not a medical doctor, and she was not in the mood to put up with this. She had spent all night with TK; she barely remembered the reunion—it felt like it was days ago instead of last night—and she was so tired of the damn implication that there was something between her and Nico, and she was sick of the mystery and the lies and evasions, and she felt like everything was out of control.

"Do you realize that by fixing everyone else's problems you leave no room for a life of your own?" she countered angrily. His look was dark but she thought she saw some confusion there. She had struck a bit of a nerve, one he probably didn't even know he had. "You _don't _sleep, do you? You don't do anything that isn't for the Hawks or some other part of Pittman's Group. Even the reading you do is probably done while you wait for some football player or employee to finish whatever they're doing. You just risked your life—even if you didn't know that was what you were doing, and for _what? _For money? Why do you do this, Nico?"

He was quiet for a moment. "I do what has to be done."

"You aren't helping them by making the problems go away. There has to be consequences. They have to feel them. TK needs to feel them," Dani insisted. "Sometimes a person has to fall to realize that it hurts. Children have to know that fire will burn them before they stop trying to touch it or the hot pan. It's not always enough to tell someone what the right thing is. They might already know it, but they have to make that choice and take the good with the bad after the choice is made. That's life. What you do is _not _helpful."

He pulled his arm free. "And what you do is no better. You placate feelings and pretend that dealing with the emotions will cure all of life's ills. It doesn't work that way, either. Awareness is not everything."

"And being closed off and bottled up will just cause more problems. There are documented cases of physical illnesses being tied to emotional distress," she reminded him. She knew that he wouldn't listen—why would he? He was the picture of cut off and closed off, and she didn't think that he would ever let anyone in. The few pieces of information he gave out were appeasements, meant to make people stop asking and ignore the fact that they knew basically _nothing _about him. What had damaged him so badly that he was like this? His military service? Had he seen bad times as a SEAL? Was it even earlier than that? Probably.

She shook her head. Now was not the time to deal with that. He needed medical attention, and it had been delayed long enough. "Get in the car."

He didn't budge. She wanted to shake some sense into him. She reached for the door handle and opened it for him. Nico's phone rang, and he ignored the glare she gave him as he answered it. He was quiet, listening, and then when he hung up, he focused on her. "What did you say to TK?"

"I asked him what he would do if the boy wasn't his. Why? What is going on?"

"That was the team's lawyer. TK just ordered him to file papers. He's applying to adopt Devin."


	5. A Crowd

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,536  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x07, goes AU in the middle of 1x06, though.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I am clearly no therapist, and I know I wouldn't know what to do, and I'm not sure what Dani _should _do, but she's still trying to figure that out, too. At least I explained... part of things. That's good, right?

* * *

><p><strong>A Crowd<strong>

"Adoption? No, no, I feel so bad for that boy with a single mother because I know how hard she has to work—don't give me that look. I know you know what my checks are, but it's not like I don't work—but no. TK is not ready to adopt anyone."

"I do not disagree," Nico said, leaning against the car a little. This was hardly the worst wound he'd ever suffered, but it grated on him more than most. He wasn't usually fooled, but that little act had gotten past him, and now he had an annoying gash in his side, one that Santino was all too quick to make too much of. "You're going to have to talk him out of this."

She shook her head, and Nico found himself disliking the way her wheels were turning. "Maybe we should let him go ahead with it, like when we gave him the trade he wanted."

Nico frowned. "I am no stranger to reverse psychology, and I agree that your method worked in the previous instance, but this does not just affect TK. This is much bigger than TK. Adopting a child is a life long commitment—"

"You think _I _don't know that? I'm a mother. I have two children. Of course I know that," Santino snapped, and Nico reached out to catch her arm before she got lost in a tirade.

"I am not saying that you don't know that. I am saying that _TK _doesn't know that. He is not thinking of anything more than proving you wrong," Nico explained, and she sighed. "Whatever the impact on TK, he would probably handle it better than the boy in question. At this point, we might have to put the child's needs above TK's. That means talking him out of this."

"Which would probably make him more determined to do it," she said, rubbing her forehead like she had a headache. Nico didn't doubt it. TK had his own form of migraine, not that the man knew it, or he would simply have a larger ego than he already did. "Never mind. Just call the team's doctor and get in the car so that we can deal with both of these problems. We can talk about it on the way, but you are getting medical attention."

Nico considered arguing with her, decided it was not worth the time it would take, and got in the car. He could have refused, but he knew that he was not going to be able to handle TK on his own. The receiver had been supposed to be sick of the child already, ready to give him to anyone else who would take him off his hands. It was not supposed to go anywhere near adoption. Sometimes Nico found himself wishing that Santino had never found her way into Donnally's bed and into the Pittman Group. He did know that she was no longer physically involved with Donnally, but that changed little when it came to the emotional entanglements and conflicts of interest that their relationship created. It also had done little to earn Santino much respect at first. It was good that the way she'd been hired—on Donnally's recommendation after he'd slept with her—was not common knowledge. The men on the team would never have accepted her as any sort of authority figure.

"How did you get stabbed?"

"How many times are you going to ask me that?"

"As many as it takes for you to answer me," she told him, and he leaned his head back against the seat rest. "You may as well get it over with. I can be very persistent."

"Tenacious."

"That I am," she agreed. She looked over at him, frowning a little. "Nico, please. You came into my house and announced that I needed Xeno's protection and you were bleeding at the time. You're still bleeding. I need to know what's going on here."

"I am not entirely certain of all the details," Nico began, shifting in the seat and trying to find a place where the annoying scrape wasn't as irritating. "Whoever it was followed me from your house, and that may have been the sum of your involvement in it. Still, I prefer not to take chances, and you should, too."

"Okay, fine, I get that, but why is it so damn hard for you to tell me how you got stabbed? I mean, you did get stabbed, right? So... what? It was some whack job in a clown suit and the whole thing is just too embarrassing for words?"

"Clown suit? Really?"

"Hey, you should have seen the guy that served me the divorce papers," she said, shaking her head. "I take it there was no clown?"

"I wish I could say that he was dressed as ridiculously or had the appearance of a clown, but the man was extremely and deceptively ordinary, hence the mistake I made in approaching him," Nico said. He moved again, thinking that the bandage was actually irritating him more than the cut itself. It was not sitting in the right way, causing it to rub against the exposed area unpleasantly. "He hit me with a car door and stabbed me in the side before I got the upper hand, and I have someone looking into the license plate of the car he drove off in as well as monitoring the hospitals."

"So... after getting stabbed, you kicked his ass? Impressive."

"Not particularly. He was an amateur, at best."

"Do you _have _to refuse to take a compliment for what it is? Really?"

"I am merely clarifying. I assure you that nothing was 'impressive' about that confrontation. I actually find it surprising that you would be impressed by violence," he added, pulling at the edge of the tape. She reached across the car and smacked his hand.

"Stop that. The least you can do is not bleed all over everything."

"You are _not _a medical doctor," he reminded her coldly. "This is, at the very least, not properly applied. It is acerbating the wound."

"And to think, I was going to get you a thesaurus," she muttered, taking the exit for the Hawks' stadium. He just looked at her, then focused his attention back on the bandage. They were almost there, and he was not going to let that thing continue to bother him. He'd had gunshot wounds that were less trouble than this. "Nico!"

"I said I would let you put it on. I never said how long I would leave it on."

She groaned and probably would have hit her head on the steering wheel a few times if she wasn't still driving.

* * *

><p>"Stop picking at it. Jeez, it's only going to be a few minutes before you're in to see the doctor, and then you can leave that alone," Dani said, yanking Nico's hand away from his bandage again. He was being a child about it, and she was not in the mood to put up with it, not right now.<p>

"It should not be this irritating," he insisted, frowning at the bandage.

"Just point me in the right direction, and we'll get you there and the doctor will take it off, okay?" she asked, trying to decide if he needed to be propped up or not. He seemed to be walking on his own, and he would probably make it, but she was still worried. Very frustrated, but still worried.

"This hall, take the first right, then the second door on the left," Nico told her. "I can walk there by myself. I do not need to be supervised."

"Yes, you do. I don't believe that you're actually going to go there, for one thing, and for another, we never did finish discussing what to do about TK."

"Let him fall, right?" Nico asked, turning the corner. He must have taken it too fast because he stopped and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. She ducked under his arm and propped him up. He sighed but didn't pull away from her. "There are ways to tie up the adoption into so many knots that TK wouldn't get custody for over ten years even if the paternity results were positive."

"Then maybe we should do that and let him go ahead with filing for custody," she agreed, and Nico shot her a look. "If it doesn't go through, it can't do that much damage, not yet."

"Unless he tells the kid he's doing it."

Dani sighed. She was hoping that wouldn't happen, but Nico raised a valid point. It wasn't fair to get Devin's hopes up, either. She could see TK as a mentor figure, maybe, a big brother program volunteer, but not as a father. He had far too many things to deal with before he took that responsibility on. It was true that he might already be a father, but a part of her hoped that he was not so that he could learn to take care of himself properly first.

"What do you suggest?" she couldn't help asking. Nico's approach to things was very different from hers. "Taking Devin away from TK by force? That is not going to fly, and you know it."

"The truth is that there is little we can do to affect the situation," Nico said, attempting to stand on his own for a second. "This will be about minimizing the collateral damage."

"Collateral damage? Is that all Devin is to you?" Dani demanded, tempted to poke Nico in the side again. She could not believe he saw that boy like that. "He's a child. He is caught in the middle of something he is not going to understand, and his mother is still in the hospital. He's going to hold onto the only thing he has, and that is TK. It doesn't matter that TK isn't ready for this. No one is going to walk away clean from this mess."

"Then we do as you originally suggested, let the custody process begin. It doesn't have to finish, but it will at least give TK the sense that he's getting what he wants, right?" Nico got distracted by trying to check the bandage again, and she moved to stop him, pushing his hand away and getting right in his face, holding the bandage where it was.

"You are _not _going to take that off, do you understand?"

"Dani?" Matt asked before Nico answered, and Dani looked back, forcing a smile. "I didn't know you were coming down."

"You didn't hear about the thing with TK?" Dani frowned a bit. She shook her head. "If you haven't, we'll explain later. Nico needs stitches first."

Matt frowned, and Dani grabbed a hold of Nico's arm, shoving him forward and toward the second door that he'd said was the doctor's. "It's a very long story, and he hasn't given me all the details."

"I'm also fine, but the good doctor is apparently prone to overreaction," Nico added. "I thought you were aware of the situation with TK and the boy."

"I thought he was out of the hospital and things were good," Matt began as he followed them into the doctor's office. Nico ditched his shirt and ripped off the bandage as the team's doctor got up from his desk, coming over to them.

"I see you need my assistance again, Careles."

"I don't, but the other doctor disagrees," Nico said, hopping up onto the examination table as if he was proving his point. She rolled her eyes. She knew that he was wrong, that he needed help, and the more he disagreed, the more he pissed her off. She turned back to Matt.

"If you count filing for custody as a good thing, then sure, everything is good," Dani said. Matt blinked, having a hard time taking that one in. "Yeah, TK is filing for custody of the boy Devin that might be his son."

"You're not going to let that happen, are you, Nico?" Matt demanded, shaking his head. Dani looked at him, frowning a little. Did he expect Nico to make this situation disappear, too? That was not going to happen. It didn't work like that.

The doctor didn't even seem to notice that the conversation was taking place, just went around doing what he needed to do, examining Nico's side. "Someone already cleaned this out. Still, you need stitches."

"Ha! I _told _you so," Dani cried, smiling smugly at Nico, who gave her a dirty look. She turned to Matt. "I told him he needed stitches, and he's been disagreeing with me ever since."

"Exactly what does this have to do with TK?"

"Nothing other than it happened in the middle of our collaboration on how to handle the situation," Nico answered. Matt looked at him. Nico was not pleased. "Do not give me that look. Santino was not involved or in any danger. She was not present when this happened. She is fine, obviously. Can we get this over with quickly? I have to speak to the team's lawyers."

"Can TK actually do that, adopt the boy?"

"It is very possible that all this is—TK could be reacting to what I said. I asked him if he would be doing all that he was if the boy wasn't his son, and I think he took that too far," Dani admitted. "I just wanted him to think about what he is doing. That poor boy is going to be so jerked around by all of this that he will need years of therapy, and I do not know what to do, to be perfectly honest."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Dani smiled. Even if she wasn't really okay with Matt's situation with Laura—wow, Dani was spending way too much time with Nico—and she didn't feel all that certain about it, she was glad he believed she could do something about this. "That's for the vote of confidence."

"This will take a while," the doctor said. "If you two have some place else to be...?"

"I am going to wait for Nico," Dani told him. "I want to know that he is actually going to get the stitches, and we're supposed to work on a strategy for handling TK, right?"

"We have a strategy?" Nico asked, and she sighed. This was going to be an even longer day than she had thought. Was it only this morning that she'd been arguing with Jeanette over the pictures?

"I don't know how much help I can be, but I'll join you."

Dani turned to thank him, but she couldn't help noticing the dark look that passed over Nico's face at Matt's offer.


	6. A Meeting

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,687  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x07, goes AU in the middle of 1x06, though.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So this was supposed to be the meeting with the lawyers, but the characters made it go differently than planned...

* * *

><p><strong>A Meeting<strong>

"Is that it?" Nico asked, inspecting the work on his side. Dani couldn't count the stitches from here, but she knew there were plenty, and the doctor had done them loosely. Nico really should have gone to the hospital. This couldn't be legal, could it? It should have been a surgeon. Was that doctor a surgeon? "Seems excessive."

Dani disagreed, but she didn't say anything. Nico got off the table and reached for his shirt. He almost put it on again, but he stopped and studied the hole and the missing buttons. Sighing, he shook his head, crossing over to dump it in the nearest trash can.

"Wait, you're going to meet the lawyers like that?"

Nico turned to Matt with a frown. "Is there some kind of problem? The lawyers are dealing with TK, and unfortunately, I happen to know that they've seen worse than me without a shirt."

"It's not that bad," Dani agreed. They both looked at her. She felt herself getting a little red. "I meant the stitches. They don't look that bad, so it's not like they'll scare the lawyers or anything. And... there's nothing all that... unsightly about any of the rest of it. I think the bloody shirt would have sent the wrong message."

"Wait here. I've got dozens of spare jerseys in my office," Matt said, rushing off to the other room. Dani watched him go with a frown. She wasn't sure why Matt had been so unreasonable when Nico had decided that his shirt was a lost cause, but he seemed to think that Nico could not _possibly _go around without one. Men went around here half-naked all the time, and no one seemed to care. Why should Nico be any different? Was it because of the lawyers? Like they would be anything but scared of Nico. He could walk in there completely naked and not have anyone say a single word.

She couldn't believe she was thinking like that. About Nico. This had to be Jeanette's fault.

"So," Nico began, focusing on her with an intent look that barely hid his amusement. She knew what he was going to ask before he did. "You're not uncomfortable with me being shirtless?"

"Why should I be?" she countered. "I suppose you'd rather I gave it a more flattering compliment than saying it's not unsightly, so I will add that if there are any women among the Hawks' lawyers, they would also appreciate the view."

"I wasn't fishing for a compliment."

She shrugged. "And it doesn't bother me that you're not wearing a shirt. Why should it?"

"I have no idea," Nico told her, and she found herself grinning stupidly. The door opened, and they both looked over as Matt jogged back in, handing Nico a shirt. The Hawks red seemed even brighter than usual. Dani winced. Nico put on the shirt without comment.

"That color does _not _suit you," Dani observed, unable to get over the sight of Nico in one of the Hawks' jerseys. It was just... too weird. Matt had grabbed him what she swore was the worst jersey in the place. Nico had been surprisingly cooperative, again. Something was really off with him today.

"And what color does?"

"Black," she answered immediately. The darker colors suited his personality and his job. She didn't much care for that gray suit of his. It was not as flattering. "That look is actually scarier than your normal one, you know that?"

Nico shrugged, moving toward the door. He probably had become rather desensitized to humiliation after all these years of working from the shadows and dealing with everything that people had him cover up. She didn't like it, but that was what he did. "The important thing is dealing with the lawyers and TK. Everything else will have to wait."

"Any other thoughts besides tying up the legal end? We can red tape it all we want, but that won't change the effect on Devin and to a lesser degree, TK. We know that TK will probably give up and stop trying for custody, which is most likely for the best, but in the meantime, Devin will think he has a father only to have him ripped away later."

"He will need to be supervised with the child, though honestly, the best outcome right now is for Cherise to come out of her coma fast or for her mother to take control of the boy. Still, I have been unable to track her down, and it is looking like I'll be going to Chicago myself to find that woman—"

"After you got stabbed? Are you insane?"

Matt laughed. "You hadn't figured that out yet?"

"Is that an official diagnosis, Dr. Santino?" Nico questioned, and she sighed, shaking her head. She didn't have any other choice. It was a question everyone asked, but when it came from a therapist, it came out wrong every damn time.

"Not a diagnosis. Just..." She hesitated for a moment. She was actually worried about him. She didn't think he should take any trips right now, not after that attack. She still didn't know why he'd been attacked, and without knowing, she was even more worried. "I think you're taking unnecessary risks. You have people to handle Chicago for you, so you can stay here."

"The quickest resolution is the best for all concerned, and that means that I am going to Chicago," he disagreed. "I will leave instructions with the lawyers, but I know that I can find the woman we're looking for faster than anyone else. If I remain here, my hands are basically tied. At least in Chicago, there would be something productive for me to do. Besides, I was attacked _here, _not there."

"But you thought that there might be a connection to—"

"I was taking extra precautions, that's all," Nico interrupted. He dug his phone out of his pocket and frowned at it. "Now is not the time."

"For what?"

"Another situation. That one I have to handle on my own," he told her, and Dani glared at him. He opened the door to the conference room and stepped inside.

Matt touched her shoulder. "You know, I know you probably want to help him, being you are who you are, but around here... You kind of figure out just to let Nico do his thing and not think about it too much or it will drive you crazy."

Dani shook her head. That wasn't right. Everyone was so used to burying their heads in the sand around here and letting Nico deal with all the problems that they would never even notice if he had one himself. And he _did. _He'd been stabbed. Someone had to start caring about what he did and calling him on it before it destroyed him.

* * *

><p>"All right, my man Nico, you have got some <em>flare <em>today," TK said, rising from his seat as Nico walked into the room. Nico assumed he meant the damn jersey that Donnally had foisted on him, and he was not amused. "Not bad. Looks like your new deal with the good doc agrees with you."

"What deal?" Donnally asked, coming in the door. He looked over at Santino. "You guys have a deal now? What for?"

"There is no deal," Nico said, and Santino echoed the comment. She winced.

"Okay, I get it, playing it on the down low," TK agreed. "Look, I'm cool with that. I just want you both to come to my party tonight. I know how you feel about parties, but this is for my boy D, and we are gonna celebrate. And I mean _cell-e-brate."_

Nico shook his head. The exaggeration of the word did little to improve upon the circumstances. This was not going to happen the way TK thought. "I am unavailable. I have a flight to Chicago that leaves as soon as I'm done here."

TK looked at him. "Damn, and I thought you'd be a little less uptight when you got some. Doctor D, can't you talk him into living a little? Or at least talking like a normal human being?"

"I speak with perfect clarity. You refuse to listen to what I say. That's entirely different," Nico told him, ignoring the other man's comments. With TK, it was generally best to filter most of what he said out. There was less chance of Nico getting pissed off that way.

He went over to the closest lawyer as TK moved toward Santino, apparently intent on giving her a hard time or trying to talk her into talking Nico into this celebration of his. "I want this thing locked up in enough red tape to make passing the budget in congress look easy, are we clear?"

The lead counsel nodded. Nico had worked with him before—on matters that did and did not involve TK—and he knew that the man would do what he needed to do. Now he could turn his attention back to the man who had attacked him earlier. He had half-expected the message on his phone to be from Juliette, the way things were going lately, but instead it was the DMV information on the car the man had been driving earlier.

The address was a start. He would need more information on the man himself, but with the address, he would soon have what he needed to confront his attacker. He was looking forward to that, too. He had questions he wanted answered, and other matters that should be dealt with. Nico did not take getting stabbed lightly.

Santino caught his arm as he got close to the door. "What, that's it? You're leaving?"

He nodded. He saw little point in staying further. He could have sent the instructions to the lawyers, but he needed to know who he was dealing with and whether or not they would do as instructed. "I gave the lawyers instructions. There other things for me to take care of now."

She did not seem to believe him. "TK is planning on having a big party where he announces that he's adopting Devin. We have to do something about this."

"I fail to see how my methods can contribute to that. This seems more like your department."

"I am not entirely above jabbing my finger into your side again and making you wish that you never had that little lapse of judgment earlier," she warned him. "Do not dump this all on me. Matt seems to be unable to do anything but smile and say _that's great, TK, _and I realize this is not his field, either, but I need someone to help me talk TK out of this."

"In light of your observations, I analyzed my previous interactions with TK and have reached the conclusion that I am more likely to push him toward whatever undesirable outcome he is headed toward. You were the first to point that out, and I don't know why you would have forgotten that," Nico reminded her. She made a face.

"Nico, I need someone on my side that is not going to give into TK or put on a smiling face for the boy, and... you're it," she insisted. "Laura is just going to spin this for the press, look at TK's community service. Matt is capable of opposing TK when it comes to an injury, but he doesn't want to be involved in his personal life. The coach can yell and scream, but he can't affect TK's personal life, either. You alone have the ability to cross that boundary—and it isn't even one you should have, but we need that if we're going to have any chance of keeping this situation—"

"Contained?" Nico asked. He considered for a moment. "I have two suggestions. One, that you speak to your son. He seems to have developed a relationship with TK that is outside of this arena as well. He may be able to reach TK in a way that a teammate with children might not, though getting one of them to help you may prove useful as well. Secondly... Let TK crash and burn. Children are a lot of work, and once he figures that out, he will not want this."

"And what about Devin? Just... abandon him in the middle of all this?"

"I am still going to Chicago to find his grandmother," Nico answered. "Unless you think that I should simply... take Devin from the locker room and hide him so that TK can _not _make the announcement?"

She touched her forehead. Another headache. "No, that is not what I'm saying. I just—there has to be some way to—he shouldn't have to suffer because of TK's actions."

"The best we can hope to do is minimize that," Nico said gently. He could see no way to avoid the boy getting hurt, except perhaps by taking him away from TK now. Still, if TK had already told Devin about the adoption, then even that would not stop the boy from being hurt. "The grandmother is the first step—"

"I don't know about that," Santino said, voicing a doubt that he had begun to feel as well. He did not know that Cherise's mother was the woman they needed right now. "Doesn't it seem like she is trying to avoid taking responsibility here?"

"Maybe. But I can convince her otherwise."

"Nico—"

"What I can do is limited. I don't fix people. You do."

She shook her head. "I cannot fix this."

Nico nodded. He knew what she was really saying, and he did feel sorry for her because there was no positive outcome to this particular situation. "TK is the key to all of this. If you can reach him, you can turn this around."

"He's out to prove that I'm wrong and he's right now."

Nico thought for a second. She was right about that much. "Switch sides. Let him think you now agree he's doing the right thing."

"Out of the blue? He'll know that I don't mean it."

Also true. He could see her moving, like she wanted to pace. "Then use the grandmother. Let TK think you have concerns about my decision to get her to take Devin, and let him think Devin would be better off with him. Then, when Devin's grandmother proves reasonable and loving, TK can see his mistake."

"I do not like all of this manipulation," Santino began. She shook her head. "There has to be a straight-forward way to handle this."

"Talk to TK."

She sighed, looking over at where TK was joking around with a very uncomfortable looking Donnally. That face was the one he used when he got stuck in front of a mic held by a nosy reporter blaming him for the team's lack of performance. She probably felt sympathy for him. It had that affect on women. Nico thought it looked a bit pathetic, though most people would say he was no judge.

Santino turned back to him. Her voice was quiet. Troubled. "I really don't like the idea of you going to Chicago alone."

"I'll be fine. And I never said I was going alone."

She frowned. "Wait, you're not... taking me, are you?"

Briefly, he considered her suggestion. For some reason, taking her with him held an odd appeal. He did not need anyone with him, and he had not actually planned on taking anyone. He had said that to let her make her own assumptions. Still, whatever appeal the idea had, it was impossible. "You are clearly needed here."

She took hold of his shirt. "So are you."


	7. A Conversation

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,580  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x07, goes AU in the middle of 1x06, though.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So... I debated with myself over this section because I am a bit concerned that certain choices will come off in the wrong light. I guess we'll see what happens when people read it.

* * *

><p><strong>A Conversation<strong>

"TK, we need to talk."

"You know, if you're feeling like sharing some of those juicy details about you and my man Nico, I'm willing to listen. I bet he's got some super freak going on underneath all that dark and dangerous, am I right? You know I'm right."

"No, I don't know, and I would not know," Dani began, taking a deep breath. This was going to be a long conversation. She was already sick of it and it had barely started. Why did Nico have to be the focus of every single conversation lately? It should be TK because of the wreck and Devin, but it seemed like everything got turned back to her and Nico. Or just Nico.

She hoped he'd been telling the truth about going with someone to Chicago. One thing that she had absolutely no doubts about was that he should not be alone right now. She couldn't help thinking that Nico was maybe spoiling for a fight. The thing with Ray, and then being stabbed—Nico was not in a good place. She'd tried to convince him to stay—not that she couldn't use help with TK. Still, she would just rather have Nico somewhere where she could keep an eye on him.

"Oh, I get it. You're together, but you haven't done the deed," TK said loudly, clapping his hands. "Okay. Well, we gotta get you a night alone, right? It's your kids holding you back? Then take the night, let them stay with me and the big D, and you can go to Chicago with Nico."

Dani found herself actually _tempted _by that idea. She didn't really like the idea of leaving her kids or Devin with TK, but she did kind of like the idea of going to Chicago—to keep an eye on Nico. That was all. It wasn't what TK thought. She shook her head. That wasn't going to happen.

"No," she said firmly. "I am not going to Chicago. I am staying here. But before anything happens tonight, I want to talk to you about this party. And this decision you've made. Have you thought this through, TK? Do you realize what you are signing up for?"

"I'm going to be a dad. What's so wrong with that?"

"Being a dad is a wonderful thing. It truly is. I am not saying that you shouldn't have that. I love being a mother," Dani agreed, trying to reach him, to create that rapport that they needed to work through this. She needed him to understand, really understand the commitment that he was making to this child. The one thing that Dani was certain of, above all else, was that TK had no idea what he was getting himself into, and she didn't want him to hurt Devin because of that. She would back off, she would even _relax _if he would just give her some sign that he understood, that he was giving this more thought than he appeared to be.

"I really and truly do love being a mother," Dani continued. It might have been unexpected, but being a mother was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Sometimes it didn't feel that way, but she knew it as. "But there are times when I don't get to sleep. When I can't stop worrying about my kids or how I'm going to take care of them. When my kids are sick or when they're in trouble or when they're pissing me off—there are times when I find myself asking why I ever had kids. Everyone does. This is not a small thing that you're doing, TK. It's huge. It's so big, and I just want you to be sure that you're ready for it."

"Why you gotta do this, Doctor D? Why you always gotta be doubting me?" TK demanded. She didn't like the wounded look on his face, wanted to make it go away, but it was a lot like one from a pouting child., another example of how he was not ready for this. "I know what I want, and I know what I'm doing. You can either be happy for me, or you can get the hell out of my way."

"I am _not _going to get out of your way, and you already know that," she told him, moving to physically block him as well. She was too small to be an effective barricade, but she had to try. "Look at me. I am not going away. That little voice inside your head that is wondering if you can do this? I'm speaking for it, too. You need to know what you're doing, and you need to be willing to stick with it. Devin is not some girl you pick up at a party, have fun with for a few hours or days or even weeks. You can dump a woman, you can break her heart—but a little boy is different. You're not going in as an equal in this relationship. You would be the parent. You are the responsible one. He is a child. You have to be the one to enforce bed time. You have to make rules. And those rules are not just for Devin. They are for you. You have to be an example."

"I can be an example," TK insisted. He shook his head, running a hand over his mouth. He started to pace a little. She'd noticed that he tended to release his tension in physical activity. That was typical of all athletes. TK, though, he was almost always moving. His personality was larger than life, and the constant movement was a big part of it. "I don't know why you can't just accept this."

"I would like to accept it. I would," she told him honestly. She really wished that she could be more supportive of this choice. "I _can't. _It would be irresponsible of me _and _go against my principles. I am your therapist. And I know you see me as a friend. I am trying to help you. I am trying to help Devin. If I am going to do that, you have to listen to me. You have to accept that I am here to help, and you have to ask yourself the tough questions that I am asking you."

TK shook his head. "You are trying to hold me back, and I'm sick of it. You know what? Don't come to the party. You're not invited. We'll celebrate without you."

"TK—"

He pushed her out of the way, and she hit the wall harder than she expected. Damn, that hurt. "And don't send Nico after me, either."

She rubbed her sore shoulder. "And if you don't want me to file assault charges, then you stop and think about this. Think about the choices you're making and the way you're behaving. You're so hell bent on proving yourself right that you've developed tunnel vision. Look at me. Look at what you're doing. Is this really something you want to celebrate?"

He stopped, shaking his head. "Why you gotta do this? You keep pushing and pushing, and you know I'm going to push back."

"I do. And I wish there was some other way, but I don't see how," she said gently. She took a deep breath. "This is not you. You don't want to fight me."

"No, I want to party. You can come if you want. I'm not changing my mind. I am adopting Devin," he told her. "See you there, Doctor D."

* * *

><p>"Tell me you haven't left yet."<p>

Nico frowned, not liking the tone of Santino's voice. She'd sounded worried earlier, when she tried to convince him to stay, but this was different, sharper. Something had changed. He could tell that with only a few words. This was not a good sign. "What is it?"

"TK, of course," she began, though there was little _of course _about what he now knew of the other situation they found themselves in. She apparently remained ignorant of that angle, though, and he was torn about keeping it from her. First he had to know how the situation with TK had changed, and then he would make that judgment. She might need to be kept in the dark, an attempt to keep her focused on TK. She would not like Nico's decision one way or another.

He leaned against the wall, adjusting his shirt. Though he had rid himself of the one Donnally had given him earlier, he had not given enough consideration for the material of the one he'd replaced it with. The fabric was irritating the stitches, and the stitches were irritating him.

"What now?" Nico asked when she failed to elaborate. Her silence was another sign, adding up to more trouble. If he didn't already have his hands full here, he might have gone to her right then. "I assume it's serious if you're trying again to cancel my trip."

"Talking to him... Went badly, to say the least," Santino explained, choosing her words carefully. Nico stopped, waiting for her to continue. "I set him off. I did what I didn't want to do, again. I blocked him, unintentionally forcing him into a position where his fight or flight response kicked in. He panicked, and he tried to get past me. I chose the wrong tactic, and it backfired."

Nico could read between the lines. He didn't like this. Again, his instincts were telling him to go to her. That was not an option now. He had to finish this first. "Did he hurt you?"

"Not intentionally. I bumped the wall when he tried to get past me. I think he was thinking like a wide receiver, trying to get past the defense. It didn't do any damage. It shocked me, and underneath everything, I think it scared him," Santino said. She took a deep breath, and he could picture her running her hands through hair. "The situation, as you like to call it, is deteriorating _fast. _This all happened within a matter of hours. TK got released from the hospital. He came to my house. He had Devin. He left and set the adoption into motion. You got stabbed. We dealt with lawyers, and it feels like this day will not end."

Nico decided not to mention to her that he had been up for far longer than she had. She would only try to lecture him again. He settled on another tactic, a distraction. "Sounds like it might be time for you to prescribe yourself some sedatives and call it a night."

"Are you kidding me? Laura might be able to spin this if TK makes the announcement, but there is no spinning away that boy. He is stuck in the middle of TK and—" Santino stopped herself from repeating what Nico already knew. She let out a frustrated sigh. "I can't believe I'm asking this, but maybe we could just... sedate TK for a day or two and let this blow over?"

"Amusing idea, and one that has tempted me before, though Donnally's method of letting the man drink himself into a stupor generally works better," Nico informed her. "He doesn't like to use it often since he is the team's trainer and has to be discouraging the excess drinking and partying all the time. Still, it is effective."

"Are you suggesting that we get TK drunk at this party?"

Nico frowned. He hadn't exactly meant that, but it could work. It would, at the very least, buy Nico some time to handle this part before he joined the others. "It would prevent him not only from making the announcement but also buy time for us to figure out the next step. What you're describing reminds me of dealing with... a certain addict I used to know. I'm not saying TK's an addict—that problem is an entirely different one, requiring a different approach. This one... It's time for everyone to take a step back and think. Sleep it off, as it were."

"So now you're suggesting that we drug everyone?"

As far-fetched as the idea might seem, it was almost a logical approach for handling it. Everyone needed to take a step back. "TK is not the only one who needs sleep."

"Yeah, says the man who probably hasn't slept in a full month. Come on, Nico. Give me something better than this. Drugging everyone is not an option."

She was usually full of opinions and ideas and not the least bit shy about telling anyone about them. He frowned. "Since when did I become your idea man?"

"Some time this morning, probably around when you showed up at my house, I guess. I don't know. We are all functioning on too little sleep, and it is clearly taking its toll," she sighed. The frustration was all too clear in her voice. "Can I go back to my reunion now? I should be at the bar with Jeanette, drinking and bitching about the way that the night wasn't what we planned. The test will say TK isn't the father, and everything will go back to normal. Or almost. Devin probably won't be the same."

Nico almost laughed. He could picture that, too, and probably as clearly as she did. It was almost ideal, the circumstances she'd described. They rarely worked with ideal circumstances. "It is not all that unlikely. However, that is not the situation we face. This one is the one we have to focus on. I think your friend Jeanette would be capable of spiking the punch and running interference. Recruit Donnally. He knows how to get TK drunk without compromising his own sobriety. Use your son to run interference with Devin and your friend to do the rest. Ms. Radcliffe may prove useful as well."

Santino was quiet. She probably did not like his suggestions. Nico did not have anything else to offer her, not now. His ideas of handling things and hers had never been the same. She would hate it if she knew where he was and what he was doing now.

"And what about you? You never did answer me. Where are you?"

Nico looked down at the man in the chair. He was starting to come around again. It was time to end his conversation with Santino. "I am handling a different situation at the moment. Keep me updated on the situation with TK."

"Do you have to do that now?"

"You sound almost desperate," Nico observed, the slight edge to her voice betraying her agitation. "Is the situation there completely out of control?"

"Not yet. I have a feeling it will be. Are you in Chicago?"

"Not yet," he answered. He had to speed this along or she would hear something that she would not like, something she should not hear. "Let me know if anything changes there. If nothing else, I will be there as soon as I am done here."

"All right, deal, but don't be surprised if I call you every five minutes."

"I wouldn't recommend that."


	8. A Farce

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,080  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x07, goes AU in the middle of 1x06, though.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Right. So... These scenes did not go as planned. Not really at all. The characters kind of took over and did their own thing, but generally, stories are better for that.

* * *

><p><strong>A Farce<strong>

Dani took the champagne glass from the tray, wishing she could actually drink it. She couldn't afford to lose her focus. She had to try and help Devin. She had almost given up on TK. He hadn't hurt her earlier, but he'd come close. He was very close to losing control completely. He was in no state to take care of a child. This party was just more proof.

It was clear that TK had forgotten how to throw a party for a child. Devin was the only one his age here, and the alcohol was everywhere, too easily accessible. She would not be surprised to find herself home with two drunk children in addition to her best friend, her patient, and her ex-almost-boyfriend.

She sighed. She knew that Matt was doing it on purpose. Part of the strategy she'd finally decided on—the one that Nico had almost suggested and that Laura had helped with, much to Dani's dismay—was to have TK get so distracted by the party itself that he didn't make the announcement. It was not ideal, but her conversation with TK had gone badly.

Dani winced again, absently rubbing her shoulder with the memory. It didn't hurt, but her mind attached that memory to the action. Of course, if TK hadn't started by turning everything she said into something about the nonexistent relationship between her and Nico, then it would have gone a lot better. It wasn't just that, though. That was what set her off. That was the beginning of her mistake.

She sipped from the champagne. She was not allowed to drink it all. She had to take it slow. She looked over at Ray Jay. He was with Devin and Shane Givens, and at least the boy was being spared part of this. TK was getting louder and louder, and she was afraid that the containment they'd been hoping for was not going to happen.

"This is not my idea of a party," Jeanette began, rejoining Dani. She'd left to mingle with some of the single players, and Dani had almost figured she was gone for the night. She was relieved to see her friend again. "Not that anyone's paying attention, but this is a disaster."

"I'm paying attention," Dani said softly. She took a deep breath and looked at her phone. She wanted to call Nico again, and she knew that she couldn't keep doing that. What was with the sudden dependence on him? She had only known him a few months, and she had survived years without him. She did not _need _him. It wasn't like she was incapable of handling this or that she was alone. "I think we need to get to TK. Maybe... take Devin away from this. Damn it, Nico, I thought you were coming here."

"Ooh," Jeanette began, and Dani shot her a look, shaking her head.

"Don't even start, Jeanette. This is not what you think. He was going to come help with TK and Devin, and I thought he'd be here by now. I just see this situation spiraling out of control so fast, and it's that boy who is going to suffer."

"Right now, he looks like he's having the time of his life," Jeanette observed, and Dani nodded. Maybe that was the worst part. Devin had no idea the chaos his very presence created or how desperate it had made TK. Devin didn't know that TK was about to hurt him. He was just having a blast, hanging out with his hero Shane, getting autographs and hearing the man's stories of greatness.

"And when TK gets tired of him? I don't want to believe that he would just give up, but from what I have seen of TK, he doesn't have that kind of responsibility in him. Not what it takes to be a parent. He's still growing up himself. I don't want him to be trapped, and I don't want that little boy hurt."

"You know, TK could surprise you," Jeanette reminded her. Dani shot her a look. "It's not always what you think. It doesn't have to be the worst case scenario every single time. Things can and do go right in life. Remember how you didn't want to go out that night? How you met Matt? Hasn't that changed your life for the better?"

"I thought you were rooting for Nico now."

Jeanette laughed. "Who you should be with now is different. Meeting Matt got you the recommendation that got you your first job with the Hawks. Your life has gotten better since then, admit it. You got rid of Ray the cheater. You had your first fling with steamy trainer Matt. You are actually reconnecting with your kids, and they get to see you as a strong, independent woman. A role model. This has been a positive change. You are moving on."

"Yes, I am," Dani agreed with a smile. Jeanette was one hell of a friend, and Dani needed her. She didn't know how she would have gotten through the divorce and all of the changes that happened after that without her. Jeanette kept her grounded and yet set her free. "Thank you for doing this. Thank you for being here."

Jeanette smiled. "Of course. Where else would I be? But if you really want to thank me..."

Dani frowned, not sure she liked where this was going. "What?"

"You can go off with tall, dark and mysterious," Jeanette told her with a grin. Dani looked over to see Nico making his way through the party. She let out her breath in relief. She hadn't realized just how much she'd been depending on him coming here. "And don't try and deny anything this time."

"This is about what's going on with TK, nothing else."

"Sometimes, woman, you drive me crazy," Jeanette said, looking like she was ready to shake some sense into Dani. "You know better than that."

"I don't have time for this right now, Jeanette. There are other things going on that have to take precedence over whatever you're imagining in my nonexistent love life," Dani told her, going over to meet Nico.

He had changed, back in the darker clothes that suited him better than that horrid jersey ever would. Some people could pull off that color red, but Nico was not one of them. In fact, even with the change of clothes, he didn't look refreshed. His hair was no longer being held by the gel he usually used, and the dark coat looked dusty. Half of his shirt was hanging loose. She was reminded unpleasantly of when he showed up injured at her house.

"What happened this time?"

"I need you to come with me."

"What? Why? Now? No, Nico, that is not going to work. Have you forgotten what we're dealing with here? Matt getting TK drunk might have delayed the announcement, but look at this. It's a disaster."

"TK is about to pass out on the floor. I don't think you have to worry about anything other than getting Devin out of here before he sees that, and that's being handled as we speak," Jeanette said with a shrug, coming up to them. Dani looked over at Ray Jay, who had the boy on his shoulders and was bouncing around toward the door, the boy completely unaware. "It's not as bad as you think, Dani. I'm afraid that whatever your friend is into, that's got to be worse."

"Did you get hurt again?" Dani had to ask, and Nico shook his head. She folded her arms over her chest and waited.

"If you insist on doing an inspection to confirm what I'm telling you, fine, but first there is a matter that should be attended to," Nico said, taking hold of her arm. "I assure you that this won't take long. Once you have been made aware of the situation, we can return here. I still have a flight to catch, after all."

"You should not get on any planes tonight," Dani objected. "You can't keep doing this, Nico. When was the last time you slept? And I want an honest answer, not an evasion."

"The sooner we leave, the sooner everyone sleeps."

* * *

><p>"Nico, where are we going?" Santino demanded, looking over at him from across the car. She had not lasted long in silence. "And why are you driving? You're the one that got stabbed."<p>

"It was a minor injury and did not incapacitate me in the slightest," Nico corrected. He was not affected by the cut, other than the slight irritation that could be ignored for the most part. He had not even taken a painkiller for the cut. "Please focus on the matter at hand."

"I would, but I don't even know what that _is," _she insisted. "Where are we going? You have to stop with the silence and evasions and everything else. You have to be willing to cooperate."

"Or my therapy will go nowhere?" Nico couldn't help asking. He was almost amused by that. "I am not in need of help. I do not need saving. This matter is something that I feel you should see rather than hear."

"Because seeing is believing?"

"If you like," he agreed, parking the car in front of the house. She frowned as she looked around. She knew this neighborhood. That was no surprise. He had known she did. She had not been expecting it, though, and he had figured as much. "Come. I told you; this will not take long."

She frowned, but her hand went to the buckle for her seat belt. He climbed out of the car and went around to the other side. She got out, joining him. Her hand reached for his arm, though he doubted she realized she was doing it. He moved out of her reach ever so slightly. Now was not a good time for that. This misunderstanding had already caused enough problems.

"Nico," she began, and he sensed an underlying hurt to her tone, possibly because he had pulled away from her. He headed up the steps and entered the house. "Wait. Why are you—Oh, my god. Rudy? Rudy Valenti? What is this? Why is he tied to that chair?"

"Dani Santino, meet the man who stabbed me. Although... it would seem you were already acquainted."

"Uh, yeah, he's my scumbag husband's—ex-husband's best friend. Well, other than himself," Santino added bitterly. She shook her head. "I do not believe this. What the hell were you thinking, Rudy? You _stabbed _someone?"

"He thought he was helping me."

Santino whirled around, looking at her soon-to-be ex-husband. Her eyes were wide, and she shook her head. Nico stayed back, though her distress was clear. They were all under the impression that his relationship with the good doctor was something more than it was, and it was best that no physical contact take place that would further confuse that issue.

"Ray, I don't—what is this?"

The ex-husband had the good sense to look ashamed. "It's—I was talking to Rudy after the reunion. I got kind of... drunk. I don't remember all of it, but—"

"You got drunk," she said, her voice cold. Nico did not imagine that this was easy for her to hear or accept. He reconsidered his choice—he should have brought along the Jeanette woman. She would have helped the doctor cope with this. She should not have to be alone. "And what master stroke of brilliance did you come up with when you were drinking, hmm? Did you think, for even a moment, about what you were doing?"

"My guess is that his ego was bruised from our encounter earlier," Nico offered. "Thus leading to a series of bad decisions and actions by amateurs."

"I did stab you," Valenti said from the chair. Nico looked over at him coldly. This was not the time to be bragging. He should not have forgotten what had happened only an hour earlier, not that their first encounter should have been, either. That should have been a lesson and a warning all at once.

"In panic and because you got lucky," Nico reminded him. "I do still recall the look on your face when I stopped your car. You had lost control of your bladder."

Dani snorted. Nico looked over at her. She almost doubled over with laughter. "That sounds like Rudy. Stupid, just like him. Like both of you, Ray. What the hell were you thinking? This was all about your ego?"

"You're shacked up with him. You left me for him."

"I've never slept with Nico. Though for all I've been accused of it lately, maybe I should," she said, turning over to look at him. He saw the look in her eyes and thought briefly of stopping her. He chose not to, intending to let her play this out however she wanted. "What do you think, Nico? Should we just... get it over with already?"

"Hardly the most romantic of propositions, but I would be lying if I said you were an unattractive woman and that the thought never crossed my mind. Very well, if you insist," he agreed, fighting a smile as she crossed the room to him, putting her arms around his neck. This was unexpected, though hardly... unpleasant.

"Dani!" her ex-husband cried, appalled. "What are you doing?"

"Just... close your eyes, you big baby," she said, waving a hand at him dismissively. She looked up at Nico. Her body language suggested that she was ready to go ahead with this right now, but her eyes did not. They held a shame—guilt over the fact that her ex-husband's friend had been foolish enough to attack him. "I think I have actually been looking forward to this."

"A certain line about a place and time comes to mind," Nico began, and she shrugged. He had not expected her to be so... agreeable about the whole thing. She had started the ploy, so she would have to be willing to follow through with it, but the ploy itself was unexpected. "I would prefer not to have an audience."

"Really? I never figured you for shy," she countered, grinning. He didn't want it to be like this. Not as a joke or a con. Then again, whatever this was would probably not go beyond this conversation. "You're not, are you?"

"Discreet, not shy," he corrected with a smile, brushing a hand over her cheek and into her hair a little. "Very, very discreet."

"I think I'm going to enjoy this. A lot."

"I have no doubts about that," he told her, and she started to hum as she moved, pressing herself closer against him. Her ex-husband started yelling, and Valenti jerked in his bonds. Nico took her arms down and looked around her. "Perhaps this should wait. I figured it was better if you saw this for yourself."

Santino nodded, licking her lips. "Fine. Yes. Did you hurt him, then?"

"When? Before he ended up in the chair or earlier when he stabbed me?"

"Dani, this guy is psycho! What are you doing with him?" Ray Santino demanded, taking hold of her arm and almost shaking her. Nico watched him coldly, tempted to intervene again. The doctor had not seemed to care for it the last time. "Did you see where Rudy is?"

"Rudy could be in _jail, _Ray," she said angrily, turning on her ex. Her hands went to her hips, her back straight. She could be intimidating when she wanted to be, mostly because she was right. "He could be under arrest for assault right now. What would you call that, Nico? Aggravated assault?"

"Pathetic, actually, but that's my definition."

Dani smiled again. "Thank you for showing me this, Nico. This actually made my day. And if you want my advice about what to do with him, then I suggest letting that one stew and humiliating that one."

Nico had no objections to letting Rudy sit overnight. He could stay in that chair for the rest of his life as far as Nico was concerned. Humiliation was a bit harder to pin down. Exactly what did she have in mind for the ex-husband? "I think you could hold this as leverage should more unreasonable requests arise in your divorce proceedings."

"Unreasonable?" Ray demanded. "What do you know about reasonable or unreasonable or—"

"Two words: _spousal support,"_ she said angrily, turning away from him. She walked outside and Nico followed her, giving the ex a warning look. He had better stay where he was. Nico stopped beside her on the sidewalk. She looked over at him. "About back there—"

"I would hardly stand in the way of you making him uncomfortable. It seems to me he has done far worse to you in the past few months," Nico told her. She scoffed for a moment and then sighed, leaning her head against his arm a little.

"You would know, wouldn't you? Just how much do you know about my divorce?"

"I have kept apprised of the legal details," Nico began. His phone beeped before he could say more. He took it out of his pocket and passed it to her. "It would seem that TK made the news again."

"For being drunk? A day after the car crash? Even if it isn't his fault—"

This time, Nico's phone rang. "Ms. Radcliffe. I assume she has ideas about spinning this latest development."

"Can't we just be happy that he didn't actually make the announcement that he's adopting Devin for five minutes?" Dani asked, frustrated.

Nico pushed the ignore button on his phone. "If I were you, I would. I'll take you home now. I believe your son, your friend, and Devin will be at your house. Get some rest."

She shook her head. "There is no way in hell I'm letting you go to Chicago."


	9. Tension

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,939  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x07, goes AU in the middle of 1x06, though.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Well, I had this whole thing going with my chapter titles that couldn't work with this one, and that bothers me. It's not that important, I'm just mildly OCD, and I liked having it with "a _ " but tension sounded weird with "a" in front of it, and I am a stickler for grammar (most of the time.) That was unnecessary, I suppose, but I shared anyway.

Though I am quite landlocked and thus not affected by the recent hurricane, I have been talking to people that are, and even some fellow NR fans/fanfic writers are, so if there's a delay in other fics, it could be because of Irene. I understand power is still out and probably will be until next week. :(

* * *

><p><strong>Tension<strong>

"We are not having this argument again. Someone has to be here to monitor the TK situation, and despite your fears, I am not gravely injured or inclined to change my mind," Nico told Dani, clearly frustrated. She just shrugged, not leaving the car. Whether he was willing to admit it or not, he was too close to the edge himself. She doubted he'd had any sleep in days, and he might consider that stab wound nothing, but it was not. He was in no state to be getting on a plane and going to some other city on his own. He needed someone looking out for him if he was going, and he shouldn't even go.

"That someone is not necessarily me. How badly do you think that Matt or Laura would mismanage the situation?" Dani countered. Nico looked at her as if the suggestion was completely absurd. She wasn't any fan of Laura Radcliffe's, but she did trust Matt to act in TK's best interests.

"If Donnally was capable of handling the situation, I would have left it in his hands last night. If I trusted Radcliffe to do anything other than preserve an image, I would have brought her in from the beginning. Remember, TK asked for you."

"And then TK pushed me into a wall when he didn't like what I was saying," she reminded him. Nico's expression darkened for a moment. She put a hand on her arm. "You have two options here. You take someone with you—and I don't mean _say _you will and ditch them, but actually take someone who's going to make sure you sleep on the plane which since no one stands up to you would have to be... me—or you wait until the morning and get some sleep now. You know how stubborn I can be, Nico. I won't give in."

"I can shove you out of my car and be done with it," he said, and she swore he was actually considering it. Bastard. "You are not coming to Chicago, and I am not postponing my trip."

She folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the door. She checked, seeing the switch was forward. Locked. Good. He'd locked her in once and it had pissed her off. She never thought she'd be sitting here _wanting _to be locked in with him. "Why are we even arguing about this? You know that you have limits, right? And we are in this... thing together, so why do you keep pushing me away? Is there something in Chicago you're afraid of me seeing? I thought you grew up in Pittsburgh. Did you live in Chicago for a while?"

"I lived in the desert with nomads," he told her, and she frowned at him. Her mouth opened slightly, uncertain if he was lying or not. She knew that underneath everything, he _did _have a sense of humor, but she wouldn't have thought that he would do it now. "I think that there has been enough personal business for one night, don't you?"

She stared at him. She couldn't hardly breathe. Talking about what had happened back at Rudy's was not something she was ready for. Her own reaction had shocked her. She'd just started the whole thing as a joke, but it wasn't funny. It had pissed Ray off, and that was great, but when her arms were around Nico, when she was pressed so tight against him that she could feel every inhale and exhale as he breathed, could smell that faint impression of his aftershave or deodorant even under the dust on his coat and the stink of Rudy's house. She had looked up at Nico and all she could think was _oh, my god, how could Ray be so stupid? How could he have sent his friend after Nico? _The truth was that Ray hadn't been thinking, that he'd drunk so much he probably didn't even realize that he'd suggested anything to Rudy, who was stupid enough to think getting revenge for his friend was a _good _idea. Ray probably hadn't asked, but Rudy's ideas always went badly. And if something had really happened to Nico because of Ray—because of _Dani—_then she didn't know what she'd do.

Why hadn't Nico kissed her then? She knew they'd been joking—it had started as one—but when she was looking at him, after what he'd said, he'd _wanted _to kiss her. She was certain of that. Nico didn't reveal much, but those eyes of his had gone dark with a completely different emotion than usual. He hadn't been lying—the thought _had _crossed his mind. So... why not?

"Do you..." Dani had to stop to clear her throat. "Do you think we can't control ourselves if we go to Chicago together?"

"You have a remarkable amount of self-restraint, and I have more," Nico told her, and she nodded. "You look uncomfortable. Please. Go inside."

She shook her head. "No. I think it's way past time that someone—you need someone to tell you to stop, and I'm it. I'm telling you, Nico, you are pushing yourself too far."

"You are not in any position to judge my limits," he warned her, shifting in his seat. The car felt too small, the frame almost appeared to bend inward, and the air was thick. She found her hand on the door handle, but she couldn't pull it. She couldn't leave. Nico wouldn't hurt her. She believed that. This tension was something entirely different. They both knew what it was.

Something smacked against Nico's window, and she jumped, hitting her head against the window of the car. "What the hell! _TK?" _

"Where is he? I know you got my boy. Where is he?"

"Well, it would seem you have your wish," Nico muttered irritably, unbuckling his seat belt. She looked at him, confused. Her heart was still racing from the unexpected appearance of TK, not that she'd been all that calm before he showed up. Her hands were shaking too hard for her to open the car door, even though her hand was still on the handle. "No one is going to Chicago tonight."

She saw the clock on the dash read close to midnight, and she shook her head. This was not what she'd wanted at all. "What are you going to do?"

"I want my boy, you hear me? You think I can't do this, so you tricked me, but you're not keeping me from him," TK said, pounding on Nico's window. "Give him to me!"

"You may not want to watch this part," Nico warned her, opening the car door slightly and then slamming it into TK and knocking him to the ground. She stared in horror as Nico got out of the car.

Her hand slipped as she struggled to open the door, but she managed to pull the lever back, practically falling out of the car. She went around the front to Nico's side as he knelt next to TK. "Are you crazy? What did you do that for?"

"That was not even as hard as I got hit earlier. He's only on the ground because he's still drunk," Nico said, putting an arm under TK. She went to the other side and helped Nico lift him. "He'll have a few bruises, but he'll be fine. I'm going to take him home."

"Not until I see my kid," TK snapped, slamming an elbow into Nico's side. The older man grunted, almost dropping TK on his ass again. The stitches. TK had gotten Nico right where he was the most vulnerable.

Dani pulled on TK's arm. "TK, listen to me. All we did was bring Devin here after you passed out at the party. You need to calm down. If you calm down, you can go inside and see that Devin is fine with your own eyes. If you don't, you cannot go in there."

"Doctor D—"

"No. Absolutely not. That is _my _house. You do not go into my house drunk. You do not go into see your son drunk. Have you forgotten what it was like to lose your mother to drugs?" she asked, and TK looked like he might attack her. Nico pulled him back. "TK, I am not saying this to hurt you. I want to protect Devin. If you really want to be with him, then you need to be sober."

"You don't do the child any favors by giving him a drunk father."

"What would you know about it, Nico? You're not a dad."

Nico looked at him coldly. "No. But _my _father was a drunk, and I will not let you do that to that boy. Are we clear?"

"Your dad... You never talk about your dad," TK muttered, shaking his head. He started laughing. "You never talk about nothing. That's Nico. The big N. Nothing. All mysterious and shit."

"Terrence, I suggest you stop now."

Dani swallowed. There was a hard edge to Nico's voice then. Not only was he in pain, but he was getting angry. That had been true. Nico had actually told TK something deep and personal that explained a lot of who he was, and TK had _mocked _him. This had to stop before it got ugly. "TK, I know that right now you're not thinking clearly, but you need to hear me. You need to listen to my voice, and you need to stop. Devin is safe. _You _are the one putting him in danger. _You _are the one that will hurt him if you keep doing this. He does not need to see you drunk. Yes, if you are a parent, your children will see you at your worst. But your worst should be pretty damn good, do you understand? You have a whole new set of rules to live by. You have to put the child first. If you want to adopt him or if he's your son, that changes everything. It has to change you. You have to be willing to act responsibly. You may never have heard this from anyone, but most parents know the mantra of _if you want someone to think you're grown up, you have to act like it. _You have to _prove _that you're responsible before someone will think you are. Nothing about your life prior to this point has shown that. You party. You get drunk. You sleep with women without even learning their name. You play a game for a living. If you want to show that you can handle Devin, then show it by being the kind of role model and father figure he deserves, not by parties or by announcements or by legal paperwork. You can be a father or mother by blood but you do not actually become one until that child is the first thing in your life. It isn't your life anymore, TK. It's Devin's. Is that really what you want? Are you really ready for that?"

TK just looked at her, and then he pushed Nico back again, falling to his knees. Dani sighed as she saw him throw up in her yard. Nico rubbed his side, wincing. "I think he's ready to sleep it off now."

* * *

><p>"Okay," Dani announced as she walked to the bottom of the stairs. Nico was on his way down, ready to go out the front door. His job here was done, and he needed to take care of other things before TK woke in the morning. "TK is settled in the guest bedroom. Devin is in with Ray Jay. Lindsay's in her room. Jeanette is going home, and now we can deal with you."<p>

Nico frowned and shook his head slowly, reaching the bottom step. "No, now I am leaving—"

"No way in hell," Dani said, coming over to him and yanking on his shirt. He grabbed a hold of her hands and pushed her back. Whatever had happened earlier was not going... here. He was aware that things between them had changed, and their relationship was going to need adjustment, but whatever their attraction, now was not the time.

"Stop it."

"Nico, I know you like to pretend that nothing bothers you or hurts you, but TK _did _elbow you, in your bad side, and I think we'd better see if he tore any of those stitches," she said, yanking her hands free. Nico did not like this, but he was almost relieved that she was after the stitches and not something else.

"I'm fine."

"You're not getting out the door without letting me look, so just let me look," she told him, and Nico relented, unbuttoning the shirt. He lowered his shoulder, taking it off that side, grimacing a little. The cut had become more than a minor irritation, but it was nothing he couldn't handle, and he did not want more any more time wasted on it. She winced. "You're bleeding again."

Nico tried to look at the wound himself, but he couldn't really see it. "I suppose you'll want to clean it out now?"

"Someone should. You probably should have a surgeon fix this, but I know that you won't, so you'll have to put up with me cleaning it out," she insisted, taking him by the arm and dragging him toward the couch they'd used earlier for the same cut.

"This is a bad idea."

"Jeanette already left. She can't make the same wrong assumption. Don't worry about that."

Nico shook his head. "That is not what I meant."

"Right. The whole... sexual tension thing," she agreed, gulping a little as she nodded. He found her reaction amusing, though he should not. She was clearly uncomfortable with the subject. That was not a good sign, at least not for him. He should find some way of diffusing the situation that would end with as little embarrassment for both of them as possible. Something that would allow them to return to their previous working relationship. She was the team's therapist. He was the fixer. They were going to have to work together. "Fortunately, that's not something we have to worry about right now because you are injured."

Nico shook his head. "That is a dangerous comment to make, Dr. Santino. That sounded a lot like a challenge to me. As I said before, I feel fine."

She giggled. "Damn it. I think you meant that, but I can't help laughing about it."

He smiled a little and sat down on the couch. The tension had faded, and she was immediately back to work. She crossed over and sat next to him, gently examining his side. The supplies were still sitting out, and she reached over to prepare the cloth with antiseptic. He braced himself for the sting, knowing that he would feel more this time than he had earlier.

"There. I still think you need to go to the doctor," she told him, turning to grab another bandage. He caught her hand.

"I let you do the antiseptic. You are not going to put another irritating bandage on me. That was more trouble than the stitches."

"You're being a baby."

"That would be if I didn't let you touch it at all," he disagreed, letting go of her hand and getting to his feet. "I appreciate the... treatment, but that's all you're going to do. I have to go."

She went after him, catching his arm. He looked back at her. The calm the unintentional joke had created was quickly gone, fizzled in the instant she'd touched him. Physical contact was out of the question right now. That settled it firmly in his mind. He was going to Chicago. She was staying here. Whatever this between them was, it was interfering with handling the TK situation, and it would stop. Now. If there was anything left over after Nico got back—unlikely, but possible—they would deal with it then.

"Don't."

"Don't what?" he countered, shaking his head. She sounded like she was asking him to stay, perhaps even upstairs in her bedroom, and as tempting as that might have been, now was not the time. If she heard the way he was thinking, she would likely accuse him of making excuses, but this was not just an excuse. He could predict everything that would go wrong if he stayed now, and the short-term physical pleasure was not outweighed by the other repercussions. "You don't even know what you're asking. Maybe it's time you slept."

"What about you?"

"I can handle myself, but if you really expect me to rest, you can't expect me to sleep on your couch. It might work for therapy, but it is not a bed. I have a bad back."

"You are such a liar."

"Good night, Dr. Santino," he said, taking her hand off his arm. Even that action had a charge that was hard to ignore. "We'll deal with TK in the morning."

"You mean when you get back from Chicago?"she demanded, her arms folded over her chest and her whole body taut with disapproval. "You know, for a shady mystery man who works behind the scenes, you are a really bad liar."

"And for a therapist, you're too involved with your patients."


	10. Distance

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,501  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x07, goes AU in the middle of 1x06, though.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So I'm on my third watching of tonight's episode, adoring the Dani/Nico interaction, and that made it hard to finish the scene I was working on. I think I even have _more _ideas now. Mercifully that would be for a separate fic. :P

* * *

><p><strong>Distance<strong>

"Oh, honey, what is this?" Jeanette asked the minute the door was open. Dani hadn't realized she looked that bad, but she was apparently wrong. Jeanette looked perfect. Hair styled, not a strand out of place, clothes fresh and almost pressed, the woman looked good. Dani was in rumpled pajamas and she seemed to have spilled something on her robe. She didn't even remember doing it.

Her friend pushed her way inside and hugged her tightly. Dani forced a smile. She hadn't gotten very much sleep last night, and she was tired and worn out. She didn't know what she was doing anymore. The fight—_everything—_with Nico was proof of that. They had been so close to something, more than once, and then that tension twisted in on itself and become snide, almost hurtful comments on both of their parts.

Jeanette stepped back, studying Dani carefully. "What happened?"

"I already told you when I called you—Ray's idiot friend was the one that attacked Nico, and then TK showed up here drunk, and then Nico and I had a fight and then I couldn't sleep, and here I am," Dani answered, sighing. She turned, going toward her kitchen. She'd already started coffee, and she needed it badly right now. No, her mind had been trained to think she needed it, and she should work on that, but she didn't have it in her right now. She knew she had things to fix, but right now, she couldn't think about them.

Jeanette nodded. "Well, here's the thing, Dani. You brought the drunk TK on yourself. As for the rest of it... We've always known that Ray was an idiot and that Rudy was, too. I mean, I married Rudy. If anyone knows he's an idiot, it would be me. I am so glad that one only lasted a couple of months before I got my head on straight. And I have you to thank for that, so don't even start guilt tripping on me now."

Dani couldn't help but grimace. Jeanette was right. They'd gotten TK drunk, and they _did _have themselves to blame for that. She'd wanted to stop the announcement, and she'd almost made it worse. Why couldn't she seem to make a proper decision in any of this? She was supposed to be a therapist. An objective bystander who could give advice and help the others see their options and help them pick the right decision. She wasn't supposed to _make _the decisions. It had to be the boy. Trying to protect him was pulling her into the middle of it. _She_ was pulling herself into the middle of it.

"I screwed up, Jeanette. I really did. I shouldn't be interfering like this in TK's life," Dani said, letting out a curse that made her friend's eyes widen with surprise. Dani sighed. She didn't want to lose control like this. At least it was only Jeanette hearing it and not the kids, Devin, or TK. "It's just... Nico was right. I am too involved in my patient's lives. And I am so pissed at him for being right even though I know that he's in Chicago like he should not be and I just want to scream because on top of all of this... I _want _him. I don't understand. Nico is not—he—I cannot deal with this now."

Dani threw up her hands and shook her head, frustrated. She tried to calm herself down, but it really wasn't working right now. She pinched the bridge of her nose. TK might have been the one drinking heavily, but she swore she had his hangover.

"Okay, first of all, if Nico's in Chicago, then he's the least of your problems right now. You can't do anything about him, so you need to take a step back and breathe," Jeanette began. She waited, and Dani rolled her eyes but took the breath. "Then we need to get you through talking to TK. What is it you do? Role-playing? Not the kinky kind, but the one where the therapist stands in for whoever the patient needs to speak to? This time it's me. I get to be TK. You are you."

"Have you been in my psychology books, too? Ray Jay has been reading them, and it's been driving me crazy," Dani said, and Jeanette shot her a dirty look. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'm going to take a sip of my coffee and then I'll start over."

"Good," Jeanette said, and Dani figured she knew why none of her patients ever wanted to use the role-playing exercise as a part of their therapy. Jeanette was no TK, and it was hard to picture her as him for even a minute.

Dani took the sip of coffee, shook out her hands a little, and loosened her shoulders. She could do this. Really. It would be easier, and once she'd spoken to Jeanette, she could repeat it to TK without a problem. That was the point of the exercise.

She cleared her throat again. "TK, now that it is morning and we all have clearer heads, I would like to talk to you. First of all, I'd like to apologize for interfering. It is your choice to make whether you want Devin in your life or not. I have been very concerned for his sake, and that has led me to some bad decisions. There are a few things that I would like to say to you, and I want you to let me say them before you respond. Before you do this, if this is what you really want, then you need to understand that being a parent is a full-time responsibility. It is not always fun and games and playing in the park. It is bedtimes and curfews and rules. It is explaining why you can't take the other boy's toy and how boys and girls are different. It's the question of why over and over again. Maybe when they get older they have a bigger vocabulary, but they're still gonna ask you why. They expect you to have the answers. Honestly, you won't always have them. You have to be able to be the person who has the answers and admit when you don't. It's not easy, but when you lie to your child and they find out, they're heartbroken. Or they get angry. Those aren't things that you want.

"For me, as your therapist, I need you to understand what you're taking on. If I believe that you do, then I can stop telling you this. But until I do, I'm going to keep saying it. I'm going to keep nagging until I believe that you know what you need to know because as much as I love my children, there are a lot of things I wish someone had told me first."

"Nice speech, Doctor D. You think I could get some coffee and an aspirin before the lecture?" TK asked from behind her, and she turned around to face him.

"How much of that did you hear?"

"Plenty. Where's the good stuff? Let me have some of them painkillers, and then we'll talk," TK said, helping himself to the cupboard and taking out the largest mug she had. He went to the coffee pot next, and Dani watched him fill it up.

She looked down at her pajamas and robe and nodded. Great. The morning was off to a good start. Really good. "I'm going to go change first. Enjoy the coffee."

* * *

><p>"Is it arranged?"<p>

"Yes, Mr. Careles," the doctor agreed, walking along with Nico through the hallways. He truly was sick of these places. The walls with the stark white relieved only by paintings picked to be soothing and fire alarms or doors that all looked the same. Cookie cutters. All the same. One place was almost exactly like the others, no matter what city or state or even decade. The more expensive ones pretended to be resorts. They catered to those who were used to being pampered, but coddling very rarely resulted in a permanent change. As soon as they left, they were back to the same bad habits.

Once again, he found himself questioning his choice of career. He could not remember why he did this. It happened every time that one of these situations arose. He would have blamed it on the constant questions of Dani Santino—the first one to challenge his methods openly in a long time. Others might have had opinions on what he did, but they never came directly to him. She was the only one who dared. She made him think.

It was not that he didn't think about it—Nico's mind was always working. Observers did that. They stood in the background, in the shadows, and they watched. They assessed. His mind was always working, processing what he saw or heard or read and deciding how best to handle it. He could predict most outcomes. Sometimes that was a curse, always knowing and preparing for the worst. He had read enough books in Santino's field to know what they would say about him. What he did, the way he tried to control things, prevent things, or fix them... That spoke to his own sense of helplessness and inability to control his own life. He was aware of what the books said and what Santino likely thought of him.

He had no desire to change what he was or even what he did. His position was an interesting one, one that suited his skill set and gave him an almost honest way to use them. The alternatives were far worse, paths that he did not want to go down.

"We have your information in case we need to contact you," the doctor said, and Nico glanced over at him again. He was trying to project a reassuring air, dressed in a sweater and tie, benign and mostly likely non-prescription glasses in a thin frame. He kept his manner pleasant, and his hands were almost always folded together. The gray in his hair was almost suspect. The image was so carefully cultivated that it was irritatingly fake. "You can be assured that she is in good hands."

Nico only looked at him. The doctor stood there for a while, then shifted uncomfortably. That accomplished, Nico turned his eyes back to the door they'd left a few minutes before. The problem was sleeping now, but sooner or later, it would wake again. "Regardless of the reputation of your institution, the hands that she needs to be in are her own. This is a stop gap measure, nothing more."

"Our program works."

Nico almost laughed. The man should not have been so naïve, not in his chosen vocation. He was a doctor who worked in a rehab clinic. He had seen the worst of people, repeatedly. He should know better. Almost everyone did. Then again, for a medical doctor, he didn't even seem to pick up on the slight way that Nico found himself favoring his side or the supposedly obvious fatigue. Neither of those things gave the establishment any credit. If the head doctor could miss them, he probably missed a lot more than that.

Looking away from the door, Nico shook his head. "I have heard that before. In my experience, it fails ninety percent of the time. A hundred percent in cases like hers. I put her here. She did not choose this. Without that... She'll go right back to it."

"Are you—"

"An addict? No. I have known several, and some of them are still alive," Nico answered, putting his hands in his pockets. His mind went to a couple of those addicts in particular, one dead and one was likely to end up that way. It was time to talk to Juliette. Pittman had told Nico not to speak to her. He'd cut her off. If Nico went against that, not only would he lose his job, she would miss the point.

Still, that would have to wait until the situation with TK was settled. That, and the one with Santino. Nico addressed the doctor again. "Most of them are not. Do you need anything else from me?"

"You've made all the arrangements. Everything is under control."

"Truthfully, nothing is," Nico muttered, walking away from the doctor and to the front door. He took his phone out of his pocket, hesitating before he pushed the speed dial. He would keep this simple and direct. Nothing more than a delivery of facts. It might have been better if he'd done this in an impersonal message. He could have informed several people at the same time. He did not have to call her. He didn't like the answer that he came up with when he asked himself why he had.

"Nico," Santino began, her voice tight with what was most likely anger. They had ended their last conversation on a bad note. This was, once again, awkward. This situation needed to be dealt with so that they could work together again. "Now is not—"

He would make this as quick as possible. "Cherise's mother will be unavailable to assist with her grandson."

"What, you couldn't convince her?" Dani asked, a bit of scorn creeping into her voice. Bitterness from last night? She didn't seem to cope well with rejection. Then again, the same could probably be said about him. "Couldn't buy her off?"

"I put her in rehab this morning," Nico answered coldly. He was not interested in another conversation about his job choices, not right now. He did not want to fight with her, but they were already there. A side effect of the unresolved issues between them. "The hospital says that Cherise may need an operation to relieve the pressure on her brain."

Santino was quiet for a moment. "Wait. Don't they need someone to approve that now?"

"We have good lawyers," Nico reminded her. He'd spoken to them not long ago, also confirming that the adoption was still tied up in red tape. "As soon as I corroborated that her mother was no more capable of rendering a medical decision than she is, they were able to appoint a proxy through the courts. She has an advocate who is being informed of all the changes in her condition."

"And is that advocate you?"

He was not surprised that she had jumped to that particular conclusion. "I think this conversation is finished."

"Not exactly."

Nico frowned. He did not want to go into that subject further. "What does that mean? Did something go wrong with TK after he woke up? Or is it something else?"

"Actually, I think we may have caught a break for a change."


	11. A Bit of Rivalry

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,949  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x07, goes AU in the middle of 1x06, though.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So, Nico's scene wasn't supposed to go like that at all...

* * *

><p><strong>A Bit of Rivalry<strong>

After changing into something that gave her the look of a professional—as little as she seemed to be one these days—and putting her hair up, Dani went down to find TK again. She was ready to talk to him. She hoped, anyway. She thought she'd done pretty good with Jeanette, but Jeanette was her best friend. She was not the impulsive and temperamental Terrence King. She was willing to listen to Dani because she wanted to help. TK didn't have the same incentive. He was already angry with her, and Dani knew she deserved part of that anger. She really did. Still, she needed to be able to reach him now. It was more important than ever.

She could hear the television and voices from the stairs, and it seemed pretty clear where TK, Devin, and Ray Jay were. She needed to enforce the boundaries better. TK should not be so close to her son. She knew Ray Jay loved having him as a friend, but TK needed to think of her as a therapist, not a friend. Not a surrogate mother or sister or whatever she was becoming to him.

She took a deep breath before she went into the room. Devin was sitting on TK's lap, awkwardly pushing buttons on the controller. He'd taken off the sling—or someone had taken it off for him—and his cast was impossible to miss, bright orange like that. Right in the middle, big as life, was TK's signature. Ray Jay's was on there, too, right next to Lindsay's. Jeanette's signature was the surprise, though.

Dani smiled. This was a good moment. She could feel a part of her stressing over the boundaries, but she knew that they were secondary right now. If she pushed TK with them, he wouldn't listen to the more important things she had to say. She would start reenforcing the boundaries when this crisis was over.

Being a therapist was a lot like being a parent. She had to pick her battles, just like with Ray Jay and Lindsay. There would be time to revisit other things later. Right now, what she needed to do was help TK make the best choice for him _and _Devin.

"Is it lecture time, then, Doctor D?" TK asked when he noticed her coming into the room.

"I don't want to lecture you, TK. It's not about a lecture. Do you think we can have a calm discussion for a change?" she asked, and he looked at her for a long moment. Devin slid out of TK's lap and moved closer to the screen. Ray Jay pulled him back a bit. Dani smiled.

"Okay, Doctor D," TK began, nodding as he got to his feet. "We can talk. Don't you let him beat you now, Devin. He cheats."

"I do not!" Ray Jay objected. Devin laughed.

TK walked to the door, crossing the hall and over into Dani's office. She followed him inside and shut the door behind her. She watched him take a handful of candy and sit down on her couch. "All right, let's talk. You hear to bust my ass about how I got here? About the adoption? What?"

"TK, you know as your therapist I can only _advise _you about the choices that you're facing. I can tell you what I think, I can give you as much knowledge as I have, but I cannot make the decision for you. You are the one that has to face the consequences. If you want to adopt Devin, you will be the one that is responsible for him. Completely. You can't come here and expect me to take over. This is not like picking up a woman in a bar. Devin is a child. He cannot take care of himself. He needs you to do that for him."

"I know that."

"Do you?" she asked, going over to her chair and sitting down. "Do you know what it is to leave your children and spend the night worrying if the house will burn down or they'll get sick? What if they have to go to the hospital? Will you get up every morning and feed him? Make sure he's done his homework and is dressed for school? Will you make sure he gets on the bus or will you drive him yourself? These are things you have to think about."

"I'm not an idiot."

"I am not saying you are. I just want you to be sure you've given this all the consideration that it needs."

"You keep saying that. Over and over. Like I haven't. I have. I know what I want. I'm dedicated."

"Yes, I am aware of how strongly you feel about this. You had to come to my home in the middle of the night to get to Devin. There is dedication there. However, dedication does not excuse you coming here drunk. We've discussed the drinking and my house before. That is not just breaking the boundaries. That is endangering yourself and others—and those others are my children. You were completely irrational last night. You were so drunk that you barely knew where you were. Do you even remember Nico hitting you with the car door?"

"Nico hit me with a car door? I'm going to kick his ass."

"You might be younger and in great shape, but my money would be on Nico," Dani told him. "And you hit him where he got stabbed, not once but twice. You owe him an apology."

"He hit me with a car door."

"Because you are out of control. You also struck a very personal nerve with him. He opened up—and you pretty much threw it in his face. You need to be careful there. Nico is not a man you want to alienate. Do not get on his bad side."

"Fine. I'll talk to the big N later. Unless you want to talk to him for me? You know, use your influence as his... uh... Well, just use your influence, huh? You gonna smooth things over for me?"

"A few problems with that. Nico and are not dating or even on good terms right now. That is how I know that you should _not _alienate him. I have. It's not a pretty picture," Dani said, still smarting from Nico's all too true accusation. He had called it. "Nico is in Chicago, so that can wait. What you need to focus on now is Devin."

"And we were playing and hanging out until you showed up and wanted to talk," TK began, and Dani sighed. He still wasn't really hearing her, was he? This conversation had gone a lot better, but he just didn't _get _it. Playing was not all there was to being a parent. "We done now? I have a game to finish."

"We're not really—" Dani began, but he didn't listen to her. He shrugged, getting up. She tried to stop him, but he was out the door before she got the last word out. "—finished."

With a sigh, Dani rose and followed TK back to the other room. Devin saw him, but he was too focused on the game just then to react. He hit a bunch of buttons, then jumped up from the floor, high-fiving Ray Jay. "I did it! I really did! Thanks, Ray Jay. You're the best. Well, other than TK and Shane."

"You're welcome, buddy."

"I have to pee!" the boy announced like he'd just realized it. Maybe he'd been a bit _too _focused on the game. He waved to TK as he left the room. TK waved back as Devin headed for the bathroom.

"You know, you're pretty good with kids," TK told Ray Jay. He looked back at Dani. "Right, Doctor D? I think your son's going to be a good dad someday."

"I'm not planning on having kids," Ray Jay said, shaking his head. Dani blinked. That was new. She'd never heard that one before. TK frowned. Ray Jay shrugged. "Look, I like them and all, and it's not a bad gig being an older brother, but the cool part about Devin is that he's going to go home later. I don't have to take care of him all the time. And Lindsay... Well, she _needs _someone to take care of her—not that she'd ever admit it, but there's no way I could help her. I'm happy being a kid myself. If I ever have kids, it'll be a long, long time from now."

Dani was still processing her son's latest revelation when her phone rang, startling her. She didn't remember grabbing it from her room. The others gave her a dirty look, and she excused herself. She really wanted to hear more of that conversation.

She sighed and answered the phone. "Nico, now is not—"

"Cherise's mother will be unavailable to assist with her grandson."

"What, you couldn't convince her?" Dani asked a bit scornfully. "Couldn't buy her off?"

"I put her in rehab this morning," Nico answered coldly. Dani winced. She kind of deserved that one. Almost. He did buy people off. There was no reason why he wouldn't have tried it on Cherise's mother. "The hospital says that Cherise may need an operation to relieve the pressure on her brain."

Dani frowned. She held up a hand even though he was nowhere he could see it. "Wait. Don't they need someone to approve that now?"

"We have good lawyers," Nico reminded her. She wouldn't really know, but he seemed to trust them. "As soon as I corroborated that her mother was no more capable of rendering a medical decision than she is, they were able to appoint a proxy through the courts. She has an advocate who is being informed of all the changes in her condition."

"And is that advocate you?" she asked, going back to the doorway now that they had probably forgotten about the intrusive phone call. She was surprised by the quiet in there.

Nico seemed unusually defensive. "I think this conversation is finished."

"Not exactly," Dani said, looking over at TK. Ray Jay's comment had really made him think. She was amazed. She was so proud of her little boy. A voice in the back of her mind reminded her that Nico had suggested letting Ray Jay talk to TK. He was right. Again. This was getting really old. Still, it was a good thing.

"What does that mean?" Nico demanded. "Did something go wrong with TK after he woke up? Or is it something else?"

"Actually," she couldn't help smiling a little. "I think we may have caught a break for a change."

"A break?"

Dani turned away from the doorway and closed herself back in her office before she explained. "I think Ray Jay may have gotten through to TK. Everything that I was saying that he wasn't hearing, my boy just put it so cleanly and made it through. I can see he's thinking about this. When do you get back?"

"I was thinking of trying to narrow down Devin's other possible birth fathers before I returned," Nico answered, and she frowned. Had he really said what she thought he had? "Why? If this is a good break, there is no need for me to rush."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Actually, yes, that was a joke. I should be back in New York in a few hours. I'll check in with you later," he said, ending the call.

Dani leaned against the door frame, unable to help the smile.

* * *

><p>"Nico."<p>

"Donnally."

"Are you ever going to call me by my first name or is that some kind of rule you have?" Donnally asked, and Nico looked at him, trying to resist the need to touch his side. The cut had stung ever since he got off the plane—he probably had slept on it badly and done something to it—and he'd actually been close to going into the doctor's office to have him look at it again. "I mean, everyone calls you Nico, not Careles, so... why don't you do that with us?"

"Is there something specific that you want?" Nico pulled on his shirt and was not entirely surprised to find it was slightly damp. He was bleeding again. "Because I am in the middle of several things at the moment, and now is not a good time to chit chat."

"It's not chit chat."

"Good," Nico agreed, heading into the doctor's office and taking off his shirt again. Donnally whistled when he saw the cut.

"Ouch. That looks worse than yesterday."

"TK's handiwork this time," Nico said, grabbing a cloth and prepping it with some antiseptic. He was aware of the other man frowning at him. "TK got it in his head that he had to see Devin last night. He showed up at the Santino's house and fought me when I attempted to restrain him."

"Is Dani all right?" Donnally demanded immediately. He started to pace in agitation. "How did that happen? You're supposed to keep everyone safe, right? So what was TK doing there? How'd that get past you?"

"I was not TK's babysitter last night; that was you," Nico reminded him. "Xeno was watching the Santino house on my orders, and nothing happened to the doctor. She's fine. I can't be everywhere, despite opinions to the contrary. Some things have to be handled by people other than me."

"Careles, you tore my stitches," the team's doctor said, coming into the room. "They were beautiful, and you tore them."

"They were sloppy, and TK's elbow tore them," Nico corrected. "Just fix it so I can go."

Donnally looked away as the doctor threaded the stitch. He was having a hard time calming down. Then again, he did tend to be somewhat irrational where Santino was concerned. "Where is TK now?"

"At the Santino house."

"What? Nico, he attacked you last night, and you _left _him there?"

"He passed out shortly after the so-called attack, and if you speak to Santino, you'll find that she is not in fear for her life or that of her children. She said that there was a breakthrough earlier."

"Wait, so you knew about this all along? Why didn't you tell anyone? TK missed practice. Coach has been raising hell, and no one bothered to call and say that TK was in therapy?" Donnally ran a hand over his face in frustration. "Sometimes I don't believe you. Was a phone call too much to ask?"

"I could ask the same of you. I am not a one person answering service. It is not my job to inform you where TK is. He has a phone. You could have called Santino, too. You did not even call me. I was on a flight to Chicago at two this morning, and I just got back. Where were you? Is there some reason you couldn't search for him yourself?"

"Damn," Donnally said. "What were you doing in Chicago?"

Nico hissed, momentarily distracted by the doctor's new stitches. He looked at Donnally again. "Looking for Cherise's mother. Yes, I found her. I put her in rehab. I had our lawyers get a proxy for Cherise. What exactly did you do today?"

"Easy, easy, Nico, I'm sorry," Donnally held up his hands in surrender. He shook his head. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that. I shouldn't have expected you to do all that. I guess we're all kind of used to you doing your thing, and no one cut you any slack for the latest crisis."

"I don't need slack." Nico looked down at the stitches. "I could do better with the sewing kit from a hotel room."

"Watch it, Careles," the doctor warned halfheartedly. Nico was not impressed, and neither was Donnally. "There. You're free to go again. Try not to tear them this time."

Nico ignored him as he grabbed his shirt. He was not in the mood for this. He took out his phone as he walked, cycling through the latest updates and messages. He hadn't even been in the doctor's office for that long. Donnally ran to catch up with him.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. I need a new shirt."

"That's it?"

"I can do the mundane as well as anyone else," Nico told him. "Again, is there something you need from me? I have other matters to deal with."

"Fine. I'll just come out and say it. What's going on with you and Dani?"

"What?"

"TK couldn't seem to stop talking about it last night. How the two of you hooked up."

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose. "TK was drunk, but that seems some kind of wide spread misconception. I believe Santino's friend Jeanette has something to do with it. Nothing happened, unless you count my stabbing. If you and Santino still have issues to resolve there, that has nothing to do with me, and I'd prefer that you left me out of it."

"Wait, Nico, do you..." Donnally's expression was one full of disbelief. "Do you have feelings for Dani?"


	12. A Hard Question

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,568  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x07, goes AU in the middle of 1x06, though.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So... I didn't set out to write the last chapter with Matt coming off as... a bad guy. He's not. That kind of pains me to admit because I can't stand him (or JD), but I try not to let my feelings on characters affect the way I write them. I had noticed an antagonism between Matt and Nico that I was was hoping to balance into their conversation-Nico's reactions being a somewhat harsh assessment of the guy versus when Dani's POV discusses Matt in an unwaveringly positive light because she doesn't have that antagonism with him. They're friends. Matt and Nico don't really fit that description. Matt can be stubborn and he can focus a bit too much on one thing, but he does seem like a more or less decent guy. So... um... I guess I apologize?

And then there's this scene which was not supposed to be like this, either. *sigh*

* * *

><p><strong>A Hard Question<strong>

"Do I have feelings for Dr. Santino?" Nico repeated. He could not believe that he had just been asked that question. Throughout all the assumptions and misunderstanding and even the recent discovery of their apparently mutual attraction had he given any thought to that answer. What did he feel for Dani Santino? He had an appreciation for what she did and the way she handled herself, the way she cared for her family and her patients. She _was _too involved with some of them, but he actually found that more appealing than someone who had managed to keep their distance and all the boundaries intact. Boundaries did not work with TK.

That didn't answer Donnally's question, not that Nico had any intention of answering the other man. His feelings about Santino were his own. If he'd asked for Nico's professional opinion, he would have shared it, though it was no secret. Personal feelings were a line that Donnally should not have crossed.

Nico looked at Donnally. "Do you realize how you sound right now? A jealous school boy comes to mind, and furthermore, I just got through saying two things to you—one, that nothing happened and two, to leave me out of whatever is between you and her. I am very close to the end of my patience, and you do not want to be here when I reach that point, do we understand each other?"

Donnally sighed. He was frustrated as well, but if he had feelings for Santino and was unhappy with Radcliffe, that was not Nico's problem. It was not one for Nico's fixer skills, either. If it became one, he would not be pleased. "Look, Nico, I'm just trying to make sense of this. I'm sorry about the way I came at you earlier. I don't—You and I have had our disagreements before over your methods, and I know that I must have sounded like a real jerk. It's just that when you said TK had done that to you, that he was at Dani's house—I was worried about her."

"She's fine. You could have asked her about that. She would have told you."

"Yes, I know," Donnally agreed. He walked around a little, threatening to pace. Nico shook out his shirt and slipped it on, starting to button it again. At this rate, he would not see his home again until next week. "And... Yeah, I was kind of pissed that TK kept throwing stuff in my face last night."

Nico's head was starting to ache. He definitely had not gotten enough sleep for this. He was not exactly friends with Donnally to begin with, and he was not in the mood to deal with whatever this was with him. If he was in conflict over Santino or anything else, that was something to talk to someone—anyone—other than Nico about. Santino would be best since she was the other party concerned. They should sort out whatever it was. Then there was whatever was between her and Nico to deal with as well, but if she wanted Donnally, then that settled things. Nico was used to being alone. He preferred it that way, and he did not even know what he felt about her.

"The best policy with TK is not to listen in the first place," Nico told Donnally, fixing the buttons on his sleeve. He thought the other man should know this by now. "You need to learn to filter out what he's saying. If you react to every single thing he says—most of which is egotistical grandstanding—then you will only become more and more angry until you finally snap and hit him."

"That how you do it? Filter it out? Because you hear a lot more than I do."

"Yes," Nico agreed, though he had other methods as well, ones that he was not going to discuss with Donnally. He looked down at the dark spot on his shirt and back at the other man. "I think we've wasted enough time today. If you don't actually need me for anything, I am going home."

"You didn't answer my question. About Dani."

Nico shook his head. "I gave you all the answer you require. If you want my advice—and I don't think you do, but if you did, then I would suggest that you speak to her. And Ms. Radcliffe."

Donnally winced, and Nico started to walk away from him. He did not need to stay for this. He should call Santino since it looked like she'd called him—though she hadn't left any messages—and there should have been some notification from the hospital regarding Cherise's surgery, but he hadn't heard anything. That was something to check on once he had showered, found a clean shirt, and had something to eat.

"How many times am I going to have to say I'm sorry today?" Donnally asked as he jogged up to Nico. Nico gave him a cold look. "I am. It's just—you can't do your vague thing about something like this. It's not mysterious. It's—I don't know what it is, but you really should just tell me so I stop bugging you about it."

Nico considered hitting him, wondering if that would get the point through. Donnally didn't want to deal with _his _issues with Santino or Radcliffe. He wanted to focus on Nico's. Easier, Nico supposed, but it was not going to work. They were not having this conversation. That question would never be answered, and Donnally was going to end up injured. Persistence was one thing. This was just annoying.

"Nico! You're back!" Santino called, and Nico turned around to see her coming up the corridor to them. She wrapped her hands together and closed her eyes with exaggerated relief. "Thank god, though you were supposed to call me and you didn't. Unless I missed it—something seems weird with my reception and I—What happened to your side now? Is that blood?"

"I think we'd better calm down and take this... slow," Nico began. He took a deep breath, hoping that she would do the same. She was highly agitated, and though she had no way of knowing it, she had come up to them in the middle of the worst possible conversation.

"Dani," Matt said, and she turned to him like she'd just realized he was there. Not a good sign. She had blinders due to the stress she was feeling, but that would not help things with Donnally. Nico should not even care what that man thought—it had never bothered him before. "I heard about TK. Are you okay?"

"What? Me? No, I'm fine," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, barely looking in Donnally's direction. "TK didn't hurt me. He did hurt Nico, but he didn't mean to—he had no idea that Nico had been stabbed earlier that day. TK was acting out, but it was not aggressive—he just wanted to get to Devin. That's not really an issue. Well, the drinking is, but we did that so I can't really blame TK for his reaction. Point is, I'm fine. Really. Nico, about—"

"Yes, as you already saw, I _am_ back," he said, intending to answer all of her questions as quickly as possible to help restrain the situation and get them through this as quickly as possible. "I have not been back for very long, and that is why I had not called you. The doctor just looked at my side, and while it was blood, that has been taken care of. I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me."

"Oh, I'd make a joke about never worrying about you, but there's no way I'd pull it off," she said, shaking her head. "Especially not now. Too much stress. I am going to sink to the bottom."

"I thought things were going better with TK," Nico said, leaning against the wall for a moment. "You said your son had made a breakthrough."

"Yes, Ray Jay was a good choice. Excellent idea, Mr. Idea Man."

Nico chose to ignore that one and the look Donnally gave him. "What changed?"

She sighed. "I think TK started thinking _too _much. Not long after I got off the phone with you, he disappeared. We—I never even thought to check him for keys to a car, but I should have. He must have have driven one last night, though I don't know how he got access to a car in the first place. He's supposed to have a driver and, after his arrest and the accident, he really should know better, but it's TK. He'll get there, eventually, but not now. At any rate, that doesn't matter because he's _gone. _He isn't taking anyone's calls—even Jeanette's—and I tried calling you to see if you could tap into the network of informants or whatever it is you have because you always find people and track him down, but I didn't get you and I don't think my messages went through and it's kind of a mess again."

"This is not your fault. You know you can't control TK," Nico reminded her gently, reaching out and touching her arm. Even as he did it, he realized it was a mistake. Her eyes flew up to his, and she wavered slightly, put off-balance almost like she was dizzy. She put her hand over his and seemed to steady briefly. The tension between them was not gone, that physical pull even more undeniable than the last time they interacted. Nico had thoughts running through his head that were more than a little dangerous. This was definitely not the place for them. She dropped her hand. He let go and moved back to the wall.

Donnally looked at both of them and cleared his throat uncomfortably. This was extremely awkward. "You have... informants?"

"I have people who let me know when things are happening. Then again, given recent advances in technology and people's obsession with posting everything about their personal lives on these social networking sites, my job is a lot easier," Nico explained. He shook his head. "TK has gone to ground before—not always for questionable reasons. He left before to think. As I recall, that was also because of you, Dr. Santino."

She frowned, absently rubbing her arm where Nico had touched her. "We have to have a talk about you calling me Dani. You've done it before. You can do it again."

He did remember that, but he'd been careful to stick to Santino since then. It helped to draw her out of her panic if he called her by a name she didn't expect. Furthermore, the use of her first name should be almost... forbidden under the circumstances.

"Immaterial at the moment. The truth is that you already know where TK has gone."

Disbelief overtook her face, and she stared at him. "I do?"

"She does?"

Nico nodded. If she gave it some thought, she would realize that, too. She'd been there before, and she had made a connection. That was where TK would go now.

Santino frowned again, shaking her head. "Nico, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I don't know where TK went. Last time, he ended up in a strip club's private room, and I am not going to follow him there again. Besides, I don't have a helicopter to go to Atlantic City in the middle of the night."

"You went to Atlantic City in the middle of the night? I don't remember hearing about that," Donnally said, frowning at Santino.

"I was trying not to remember it, personally, and I don't tell you ever single detail of every single—Oh, listen to me. I'm sorry, Matt. I am going crazy right now, and I'm more than a little bit touchy. Nico knows. We've kind of had it out a few times in the past day or so. God, it's only a day, isn't it? Someone shoot me."

"It's going to be okay. This situation with TK is going to blow over. They always do," Matt said, giving her a pat on the back.

She made a face. "The situation with TK might blow over if it's a suspension, if it's a fumble or a missed pass or even a drunken party. This involves a _child. _Even if Devin goes back to Chicago, there is a lasting_ impact_ in this case."

"TK always bounces back. Besides, once the test results come back and it's not his kid, then it's over," Matt said. Santino looked at him, appalled. "I mean, it's TK. He's not going to stick with it. We all know that. He'll move on."

They might have all thought that, but it was rather foolish of Donnally to say it.

"I don't think that he will, not that easily. I think it would devastate him if the results came in and Devin wasn't his. This is hitting him harder than anything else TK has been through," Santino insisted. Nico looked down at his phone. The results were in now. He should look at them and decide where to go from here. "TK needs time."

"He'll figure it out. He's got you."

Nico gave Donnally a look and shook his head, pushing away from the wall. He was done here. Enough time had been wasted, and it was only going to continue if he stayed. The supportive talk was getting old and hard to believe. "I have to go."

"What? Now?"

"I was leaving before you got here."

"Oh, right. No, go, it's fine. You should be sleeping and—well, I guess we should let TK have some time. I'm just worried, and—Oh, my god, I _do_ know where he is. His mother's grave. That's gotta be it," she said, stopping in the middle of her sentence, a smile overtaking her face. She came close to Nico, and he thought she was going to hug him, but she didn't finish the approach. "Wait, how did you know about that?"

Nico shrugged. He had followed her that day, but admitting to that would probably make him think that he had stalked her. In the beginning, of course, he had not known that she could do what she was supposed to do. He trusted her now, but she'd earned that trust over time.

She shook her head a little. "Never mind. I don't need to know. Thank you."

He wasn't sure what he'd really done, so he didn't say anything. There was nothing really to say. She smiled at him, and he tensed a little as he realized that she _was _going to hug him. This was not a good idea. He should stop her. He started to, but then she did what he was not prepared for and kissed his cheek.

She stepped back and gave him a shy smile this time, touching his arm as she gave him orders. "Go home, get some sleep, okay? I've got this."

Nico stared after her as she left. He wanted to believe her, but he didn't think she had any idea what she'd just done.


	13. Chemistry

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,727  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x07, goes AU in the middle of 1x06, though.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So the characters... and I both had some trouble remembering where they were at the time. Nico had to keep pointing it out, lol.

* * *

><p><strong>Chemistry<strong>

Oh, no, he didn't. He did not do this. He had damn well better not be doing this. He knew better, and she knew that he did. He was not supposed to be here. She was going to handle this. Nico's presence would only hinder her conversation with TK. She shook her head and turned back to cut him off before he could get close to the grave, stopping in the path and folding her arms over her chest. "I thought I told you I'd handle this."

He nodded in acknowledgment, but he didn't back off. She didn't like this. Whatever he was here for, it couldn't be good. She shouldn't have even noticed he was there—that was the way he worked. Okay, so he _wanted _to talk to her. That could be awkward, too.

"I'd have liked to let you, but this wasn't something that could wait."

Dani frowned as she looked over at Nico. Damn, he was tired. He was exhausted. It was all over him. If he didn't get some rest soon, he'd just fall over. He did _not _look good right now. She wished he'd listened to her, that he'd gone home and gotten some sleep.

"What couldn't wait?"

He passed her the tablet, and she read over at the document on the screen for a moment before wincing. She shook her head and looked over at TK. He was kneeling in front of his mother's grave, lost in thought. She hadn't wanted to approach him yet, and she couldn't let Nico go over there. Not now. Not with those results. "Nico, this is going to kill him."

"We don't have to tell him right away, but I am not the only one who has access to these results. Someone else will tell him, and it will _not _be good if he hears it from one of them. You're the one he trusts, not the coach, not Donnally and definitely not Radcliffe," Nico told her, and she nodded. She knew that TK needed to hear it from her. No one else would understand his connection to Devin and be sympathetic towards that. Matt had already made it clear that he thought TK wasn't the father and that was a good thing. Laura would want to put the whole thing in a positive light for the press, bury the stalker and the child and make it all go away. Why was it that Nico didn't want that, too? Wasn't making things disappear his job?

"Why are you doing this, Nico?"

"Informing you? That is my job, and since you mentioned problems with your phone, I figured it was best to do it in person."

"Not that, though... thank you for making sure I got the news. I mean this. With TK. You know he's not the father, and instead of using that to end everything, you're trying to help TK cope with it. Don't you think it's better if Devin isn't his son?"

"At this point, no. TK is too attached. The boy is too attached. Having some outside piece of paper decide for him is not going to help," Nico said, again impressing her with his insight. He might think that he couldn't fix people, but the truth was that his skill at observation, his intuition, and his analytical mind led him to a better understanding of people than some of the therapists she'd gone to school with. He had known where to find TK, and he knew what TK needed now. "TK needed to reach the decision to keep or let go of the boy without someone telling him that the boy isn't his. It takes a bigger man—bigger person—to accept responsibility for a child that isn't his or hers, but TK might see this as a convenient way out of the situation he's created with Devin."

"Okay, why is it that you—on no sleep, injured, and aware of dozens of other situations that I know nothing about—can pinpoint what is going on and put it in the most direct way possible while I'm still running around like a damn chicken with its head cut off?"

Nico gave her a slight smile. "I would hardly put it that way. I think the difference is that I stand in the background while you are in the forefront. You're the one dealing directly with TK and Devin, not me. I can sit back and do what I do best—observe and analyze."

She hoped it was just that. She was supposed to be better at dealing with people than this. She was a therapist, after all. She understood thought patterns and behaviors. She helped people with them every day. "Jeanette says he could surprise us. That maybe he'll want Devin anyway."

"He is the only one that's convinced that is for the best, though," Nico said, and she nodded unhappily. She closed her eyes and shook her head, leaning it against his arm. He stepped sideways, away from her. "I think it's best that you keep your displays of gratitude to a smile in the future."

"What?" she asked, looking up at him. She'd stumbled a bit when he moved, and she didn't like it. "Why?"

"That kiss? It may have been on the cheek, but under the circumstances, it was highly inappropriate and provocative."

She smiled a little. "Can't stand the heat?"

Nico shook his head. "I assure you that I could withstand anything you came up with, but I am referring to your friend Donnally."

Matt. He had been standing there when she did it. She'd almost forgotten. It wasn't like she'd meant to or anything. There was TK and then she'd gone to the stadium not sure what she'd find, and Nico had been there. She'd been so focused on the latest situation with TK that Matt's presence was actually more of an hindrance than a help. She just needed to find TK, that had been all that she'd cared about. Nico could help. Matt had no idea. Of course, she should have known, but that wasn't the point.

A part of her—still stung and hurt by how quickly Matt had moved on without her, even if he deserved to have a life of his own—wanted to say that it didn't _matter _what Matt thought. He'd given up any right to have a say in her life—not that he really had one to begin with because that was her business and her decision—when he hooked up with Laura. Who was he to say who Dani could and could not be with? If she wanted to give Nico a kiss—on the cheek or otherwise—it did not concern him.

Then again, she had been the one to draw the line, to want a professional relationship once she got involved with the Hawks. She had put the bread stick between them, not him. If she felt that she had to keep things professional with Matt, then why should Nico be any different? Why could she have an unprofessional relationship with Nico and not with Matt?

She couldn't answer that. She knew that it was a double standard. She couldn't do it.

"You're right. It won't happen again."

Nico turned to leave, and she caught his arm. He stopped and looked at her. "I thought we just agreed that—"

"We have so many things to talk about, things that have nothing to do with TK and everything to do with how we go forward from this point, and if we don't talk about them soon—the fact is, it's not going to go away with me promising not to kiss you in public. What next, I can't touch you?"

"There seems to be a strong reaction to physical contact at this point."

"And we've done the ignoring thing, and that's not exactly working, is it?"

"You were in a hurry to get to TK."

"Nico, damn it, stop trying to change the subject. This thing between us has been getting between us working together for a while now."

"A day."

She sighed. "It's actually two now."

"This is hardly the time or place for this discussion," Nico began, looking over toward TK and the graves. Dani didn't like doing this here, either, but she didn't know when they'd have another chance. They didn't seem to have much time alone—too much sometimes and not enough at others. How was she supposed to tell him everything, to explain what she was thinking and feeling and the conflict she had? She wanted to tell him how close she was to crossing that professional boundary, and she didn't even understand that because she was still trying to deny this thing between them only a day ago. She was so confused. She wanted more but had to stop at less. She wanted to talk it out, get rid of this confusion and the tension.

"When is?" she finally asked, and he looked down at the ground for a moment. "We need to settle this."

"How? We've established that ignoring it is not an option. You want to... let the physical attraction run its course?"

She put a hand to her head. "That has got to be the worst possible way of saying it. Where's the romance in that, Nico?"

"Again, not the time or the place."

She laughed a little. It wasn't really that funny, but she needed to laugh. It wasn't like she expected to yank him down onto the nearest burial plot and have her way with him, but she definitely didn't want to make it into something so cold and... clinical. It would be like... donating sperm or something, and that image made her cringe.

She shook her head. "No, but you can do better than that, right?"

"If I couldn't, things would be simpler," he said, amused. She rolled her eyes. He almost touched her, but he stopped himself. "I should go. Let me know if you need any help with TK."

She nodded, watching him leave. She didn't want him to go, but if he stayed, they would do something they shouldn't in a highly inappropriate place. She couldn't believe this. They were rational people. It should be simple to take care of a physical attraction. She winced. That sounded wrong as well. She had been able to get by on dreams of Matt—and she could hear Jeanette saying something about a vibrator. That would have to be enough. If they succumbed to the physical attraction, it would most likely end with things between them so awkward that they couldn't work together anymore.

She took a deep breath and walked over to TK.

* * *

><p>"Took you long enough to get over here, Doctor D."<p>

Dani shrugged. She knelt down next to TK's side, looking at the dates for Leona King again. _Beloved mother. _Would that lie be on her tombstone, too? What had Leona really done for her son? Sure, underneath all that anger, TK still loved his mother, but calling her _beloved _was a stretch. "I haven't been sleeping very well lately, and that tends to affect my judgment. It took me a while—and someone else to tell me—that I already knew where you were."

"Nico?" TK asked, looking around the cemetery. She didn't see him, either, but that was no surprise. He should be heading home, and even if he didn't, she didn't think that he'd be anywhere where they'd notice him. "You two been getting pretty close, huh?"

"TK, now is really _not _the time for that," she began, and he gave her a look. She sighed. "Look, the situation with me and Nico... It's complicated. And it's not going to go anywhere, so you can just drop it."

"Dude, is this more of your boundaries crap? Is that it?" TK asked with a frown. He shook his head. "You know, I don't get you. Sure, patients, that's one thing, but you and the big N? Why you gotta have rules about that? You both should have some. Hell, that man _needs _to get laid. Bad."

"What Nico needs right now is probably about a day's worth of sleep, antibiotics, and someone to make sure that his cell phone is off and no one can interrupt him so that he actually rests for a change. We're not here to talk about Nico. We're here because of you, because of what's going on with you and Devin."

"Big D? He's good." The tone of TK's voice suggested otherwise, though Dani knew that Devin was safe back at her home. Jeanette would have told her if anything was wrong. The person who wasn't good—that was TK. "Come on, Doctor D, how about some equality? You share; I share. You been telling me all about your kids. They the reason that you don't want to get involved with Nico?"

"Therapy is not about equality, TK. I am not the friend that you talk to. I have to be separate. I can't be your friend. A friend gives this a completely different dynamic, one that is not going to let you make progress. I need to be the doctor and you need to be the patient. Being the patient doesn't mean you're crazy. We all need help. We all have issues to face. We talk to our friends, but our friends—we expect them to agree with us, to take our side. A therapist is not supposed to take sides."

"That's why you never do, right?"

Dani sighed. "I'm not perfect. I've taken more sides with you than I ever should have. I have not been at my best with you, and that's on me. That is something that I will work on."

"I'll forget all about it if you tell me about you and Nico."

"There's nothing to tell. Nothing has happened. Even if it had, I would not tell you. This is a classic attempt at deflection, and it almost worked. But it's not going to, not this time," she insisted. TK sighed and reached over to touched his mother's grave. "You came here because you needed to think, didn't you? What were you thinking?"

"About my moms. About how she OD'd and left me. About my dad. About how he didn't want me. I thought—am I like my dad, Doctor D? If I decide I don't want Devin, I'm doing what he did, right? Throwing him away like my dad threw me away?" TK asked. He hit his hand on the top of the grave. "I don't want to be like him. I can be _better _than him. I have to be better than him."

"I know that you can be better. You will be better. That does not mean that you have to take care of Devin just because of your father," she began, and he gave her an incredulous look. She touched his hand. "When a woman gets pregnant, she has options. It is her choice, but if she knows that she cannot take care of the baby, the best choice is _not _keeping it. That baby can have a chance at a better life if she lets it go. There is a chance that we do more good by holding onto something than if we let it go."

"But he's my kid. And Cherise needed help before she got in that accident. I'm supposed to walk away from all of that? How the hell do I live with myself? I can help him. I'm not perfect, but he could do worse than having the Terrence King for his father."

Dani took a deep breath. Now was the time. He had opened it up for her to say it. She had to give him the results. She took TK's hands in hers. "There is something that I need to tell you, TK, and this is not easy. The paternity tests came back."

"And I'm Devin's father. Yeah, I knew that, Doctor D."

She shook her head. "No, TK, you're not. I'm sorry."


	14. A Test

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,849  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: First, I took some small liberties with Nico's backstory. Oh, and I should apologize for the last scene. The characters got completely sidetracked. Oops?

* * *

><p><strong>A Test<strong>

"The hell do you mean, he's not my kid?" TK demanded, getting to his feet and almost knocking her over as he did. He started to pace, agitated. "He's gotta be my kid."

Dani stepped back, shaking her head sadly. She knew that this would not be easy, and she wished that she could take the pain away from him, but it didn't work that way. She couldn't do that for her children, and she couldn't do that for TK. This news was not what he wanted. He would not consider it for the best, though everyone else did. Dani was torn, and Nico had seen it from the other perspective as well. It would be simple to wish that Cherise had never met TK, that she'd never spent any weekends with him, that there was no possibility that Devin was his son, and that she'd never thought of coming to New York to tell TK he was a father. That would have been ideal, right? Only life didn't work that way, and Devin _could _have been TK's son. He wasn't, but he could have been.

"The paternity results were clear, TK. He's not your son."

"But he's—how long have you known? You been keeping this from me all this time?"

"No," Dani answered immediately. "I found out from Nico just before I walked over to you. And since I spoke to him just before I got here—he showed up here shortly after I did—he didn't have them for very long, either."

"You believe that? You're more of a fool than I thought. Nico is the best there is at that spy shit. He didn't have to tell you when he got them. You'd believe he got them right before he showed up no matter what. Stupid, stupid woman."

"TK, I understand that you're angry, but that does not mean that you can insult me," she warned. She knew that she couldn't really afford to take TK's words personally, not right now, but it was still hard. "I believe Nico because he has earned my trust. I may not always agree with what he does or how he does it, but he has never lied about the way he does things. He was in Chicago this morning, putting Cherise's mother into rehab. He only got back this afternoon. Even if he'd known before, that's not something you tell over the phone, so it's not like he would have called you."

"No, he let you do his dirty work."

"You really don't get it, do you, Terrence? Nico actually cared enough about how you would react to the results that he made sure that someone you trusted gave you the news. People care about you, TK. Not as fans but as colleagues and friends and therapists. We are all trying to help you. We are all trying to be here for you as you make these decisions and face this. We've made mistakes. You've made mistakes. We're human. That happens. But that doesn't mean that we're not here for you. We will see you through this."

"What, Nico? Nico don't give a damn about TK. He's just there to protect the money. He does whatever Pittman tells him to do and he keeps things quiet. He wants Devin to go away. He wants this all to disappear, right?"

"Considering that Nico stayed at the hospital to watch over you, Cherise, and Devin, that he kept working through the night and after he was stabbed and through another night then took a flight, came back and made sure that you heard this from me, I don't buy that this was about money," Dani told him. "I never have."

"Then what the hell would make Nico do any of this crap, huh?" TK shook his head. "He must make a _lot _of money. Only reason to put up with the stuff he does. Only reason to do what he does."

"Actually, it's not. Pittman is married to my younger sister," Nico said, and Dani jerked, whirling around to look at him. TK stopped pacing, doing his own fair share of staring. Nico was supposed to be gone. Home. Resting. Not here. How long had he been there? Had he even left? How much had he heard? Could this get any worse—and Nico had a sister? "His interests are her interests."

"So... family comes first?"

Nico shrugged a little. Dani figured that was a complicated relationship. Still, she could see Nico doing all of this out of family loyalty—but she did not see it for money. Something about materialism didn't fit him, even with his tailored suits.

"I hate to interrupt, but Cherise has woken up and is asking for you," he told TK and then turned to Dani. "Jeanette is already on her way to the hospital with Devin."

TK shook his head. "I'm not going. Why the hell should I go? That ain't my kid, and that woman is just a liar."

"You can be a father—or feel like one—without any blood relation, Terrence," Nico said quietly, and Dani frowned at him. Did Nico have kids? He'd never mentioned any of them, but then he didn't mention much of his personal life.

"What would you know about it?" TK demanded. "You got no kids. You got no wife. You got no life, dog."

"I have been married. I have never had children, but that does not mean that I have never felt like I was close to a child, responsible for one. You know very little of who I am or what I have done, and you are in no position to judge."

"Easy, guys, let's not turn this into an argument," Dani said, stepping between them. "Nico raises a valid point. All this time before you got those results, how did you feel about Devin, TK? Did you feel like he was your son? Did you want to take care of him? You were so desperate to get to him last night that you hit Nico. Does all of that feeling really go away with one test?"

TK frowned. He started to fidget and then went back to pacing. Dani looked at Nico, but he said nothing. She was surprised that he hadn't left again. That was what he did, made a personal revelation and then left. A sister, a previous marriage, no children but someone he thought of as his child. It wasn't like him to share so much and stick around. She cleared her throat. "We form attachments to people who are not related to us by blood every day. Sometimes our friends or the family we choose becomes closer to us than we ever were with the ones we're related to."

"Oh, yeah? You say that, with your white house and your two kids and—"

"And _you. _You have pushed your way into my house and my life and my family. My son thinks of you not just as his sports hero but as an older brother and friend," she told him, and he started to protest. She held up a hand. "I am not talking about boundaries this time. Those boundaries have already been crossed."

"You don't want me as a part of your family, though."

She shook her head. "It's not that, TK. I like you; I really do. I care about you. I worry about you. I am proud of you when I see you do the right thing, when you make progress, and when you make a great catch. But I am your _therapist. _The boundaries are there for a reason. I can't help you if I'm too close to you."

"And she could lose her license if the relationship was inappropriate."

"Nico! Not helping," Dani hissed, looking over at him. He shrugged. He did have a certain brutal honesty about him, and sometimes that was what a person needed to hear. Most of the time... it wasn't.

"I'll meet you at the hospital, then," Nico said, turning to leave.

"Would you please just go home and sleep?" she called after him. He stopped, turning back to her. "You look like you're ready to play an extra on _Night of the Living Dead."_

"I always kind of figured him for more like Dracula, you know," TK said with a smile, and Nico shook his head as he started walking away again. She knew he'd be at the hospital—maybe she could get him into see a doctor who'd do a better job taking care of him than the other one had, at least.

Dani looked over at TK. The laughter was gone, and they stood in an uncomfortable silence.

"I really don't know what to do now, Doctor D," TK admitted. "I thought—it all made sense when Devin was mine. Answer was easy, right? I step up; I be the man; I take care of my boy. Only he's not my boy."

"He doesn't have to be your biological son to be your son," Dani reminded him. "You can still adopt him. Or not. You don't have to decide this very second. Why don't you see what Cherise has to say?"

TK nodded. "Okay, Doc. Let's go."

* * *

><p>She stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Her lips were slightly pursed, and she looked worried. The relaxed posture still held some tension, little things that gave away how concerned she really was. Her hair was falling loose from where she kept accidentally pulling on it when she rubbed her forehead. Lines of fatigue were starting to show at the corners of her eyes.<p>

"How is it going in there?"

She jolted upright, startled, and looked at him coldly. She shook her head. "Nico, stop doing that to me. I really hate when you sneak up on me."

"You have a bad habit of zoning out and getting lost in thought. It is not my fault that you're usually distracted when I walk up to you."

"I should put a collar on you that makes noise so I know when you're coming."

"Hmm. I think that is beyond my personal level of kink," he told her, and her face got red. She moved away from the doorway, covering her face with her hand as she took up a new position. She let out a deep breath and touched her forehead again.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I know."

"I don't think anyone could make you into their sex slave anyway," she said, regaining some of her composure. She straightened her shirt a little. "You look better, though."

That made sense. He had taken a brief side trip, one long enough to permit him a quick shower and change of clothes. "I stopped at my house before I came here."

"You should have stayed there. This is under control. TK hasn't had any outbursts. He didn't even yell at Cherise. She cried, but overall they've been talking reasonably," Santino told him, looking down at her shoes. He imagined they weren't very comfortable, but she had a tendency to wear impractical heels regardless of the situation. "Does that surprise you?"

Nico shook his head. He leaned against the wall next to her, careful to keep a relatively safe distance between them. She glanced at the gap and then at him. She seemed to be thinking something over before she moved sideways, closer to him. This time, he looked at her. "I thought we had... reached some kind of agreement about this."

"It's not a kiss, we're not in a cemetery, and you no longer look like someone from a zombie movie," she said, shrugging. Her arm bumped his, and he felt the exposed skin of her hand touch his. Their eyes met again. "Two ways this thing can go. Denial or acceptance. Denial isn't working. Acceptance has begun, but if we keep reacting like each touch is a burn, we'll be just as uncomfortable as when we were pretending it wasn't there."

He nodded, accepting the validity of her statement. They didn't need to act like it was nothing. If they settled into it, they would adjust to the feeling. They could return to a comfortable working relationship if they accepted what it was and stopped making a big deal out of it. That was simpler in theory than in practice. "Is this your idea of letting the physical attraction run its course?"

She elbowed him. He had positioned his bad side away from her, so she missed the cut, but the impact might bruise anyway. "Very funny."

"You don't seem amused."

"Running the course of physical attraction—shouldn't that end up in a bedroom?"

"Not always."

"I thought you were discreet."

"It doesn't have to be in a bedroom to be discreet. Not all bedrooms are discreet," he countered, watching a blush cover her features again. How exactly did she work as a therapist when this kind of talk made her so uncomfortable? Then again, it was her sex life being discussed, not her patient's. "What do you think TK will decide?"

She frowned at him. "That's a shift. Are we going back to denial?"

"No, we're testing this in application. Can we discuss something else without thinking about the attraction?" he asked, and she almost laughed. She nodded, and then her fingers brushed his like she wanted to hold his hand. He frowned a little. This felt like a test. "I did not see the former Mrs. Valenti or the boy. They should have been here before I got here."

"Jeanette took him down to the gift shop to find something for his mother while his mother talked to TK," Santino explained. "He seems to get along with her pretty well. He's such a sweet little boy. I bet he charms everyone he meets without even trying."

"You could adopt him."

She did laugh then. "It's a nice thought, Nico, but I've got my hands full with the two I've got. Why don't _you _adopt him?"

He had considered adoption before, but not like this. He had wanted to take a certain girl away from her life of privilege and overindulgence and help her find a way to function without drugs or the series of bad men she was always with. While Cherise's circumstances were far from ideal, Devin was not in a bad home or in any danger. Not even from his grandmother. "I am, as you may have noticed, rarely home."

"But you own a bed."

"You failed the test," he told her, and she laughed, leaning her head against his shoulder. He caught a scent—one he believed was from her shampoo, though she was not against using perfume on occasion. "And now you're making it worse."

"You made it worse first."

"No, I didn't," he objected, but then he realized that their hands were actually together. He didn't remember doing that—it was just as likely to have been her—but it was not like him at all. He was not the type for public displays of affection. She seemed more likely to use them. This hand holding had to be her doing. "That was you. If I'd made a move, you would have known about it."

"Oh, really? I think you're just trying to cover up the fact that you like to hold hands."

"Absolutely not. I meant what I said. You would have known I was making a move."

"Like I do when you sneak up on me?"

"Would you like proof?"

"Here? Now? This is crazy, Nico. And it's not going to work. My relationship with the Hawks needs to be professional. A couple days ago, if we'd decided to pursue something, your 'discretion' could maybe have kept it from everyone for a while, not that I should go behind everyone's back or anything. It doesn't matter. It couldn't be a secret. Now nothing could keep it. Everyone already thinks it's happening when it's not."

"That almost suggests that it's not worth denying it."

He moved away from the wall, letting go of her hand. She tried to back up, but the wall would not let her go any further. "Nico—"

"If you'll permit me, Dr. Santino," he began, and she frowned, trying to figure out what he was doing. He put his hand on the small of her back, and she looked down at it for a moment before her eyes came back to his. She managed a small nod, and he lowered his head to close the last of the distance between them, covering her lips with his.


	15. An Ultimatum

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,859  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Uh... Right. Can't live up to the hype. That's it. Yep. *sigh*

* * *

><p><strong>An Ultimatum<strong>

"If you'll permit me, Dr. Santino," he said, and Dani frowned at him. She didn't know what he was doing. Her back was pressed up against the wall, but she wasn't really afraid of Nico. He'd startled her plenty of times but never scared her. His hand touched her back, and her eyes went down to it. _Oh. _That was what this was. She looked back up at him. She should say no, but she gave him a nod. _What am I doing? He asked. I should have said no. _

His lips covered hers, and she felt a rush overtake her. With all the constant push and pull they'd been doing, the tension that had threatened to explode or even implode at any second, she would have thought that this would be a letdown, no way it could live up to the hype. She was wrong. The truth was that nothing could have prepared her for what it was like to kiss Nico. No one had ever kissed her like this. Not Ray, not Matt. The kiss lacked none of Nico's intensity, but where one of the others would have been going for her bra strap by now, Nico's hand stayed on the small of her back. She hadn't gone for his clothes, either. Neither of them was frenzied or desperate, trying to get rid of clothes as fast as possible, and yet the kiss was the most passionate—almost unbelievably so—one she'd ever had.

It wasn't chaste, it wasn't at all platonic, and if she thought about it, she'd swear this thing was draining her very _soul _it felt she was giving that much—but she was also _getting _that much. Most of the time a kiss was just a start toward something else, a few frantic movements of the mouth and hands and falling into a bed. This, though, this was a kiss that didn't _need _to be more. It was something else, something that stood its own ground, something that she could stand here and enjoy for hours without feeling like she needed to hurry it up and get into the bed already.

He stepped back, his hand moving away from her waist, and she stared at him. She shook her head, forcing air into her lungs as she reached for him. He was not allowed to stop now. She felt... bereft. Something had been taken from her when he backed away, and she did not like it.

"You need to breathe."

"I don't care about breathing. I want you."

He smiled a little. She cursed as she heard herself. She shouldn't say that. She'd said essentially the same thing to Matt, that she wanted to kiss him, but Matt knew that the line still stood. Nico—oh, hell, the line seemed completely blurred and gone and she was completely _screwed._

Well, not yet, Jeanette would say, and Dani winced at the thought. "I mean... I... This is awkward."

"No, that was _hot," _Jeanette said, and Dani reluctantly turned to see not just her friend but several others standing there. Devin, of course, had been with Jeanette on the trip to the gift shop, and he had come back with a balloon and stuffed bear that was almost bigger than he was. Dani wanted to smile, but the fact that her friend—who would _not _let this go—had seen it along with some of the staff made smiling impossible.

Then, to make matters worse, two newcomers had come around the corner. Matt looked between Dani and Jeanette. "What was hot?"

"It's—What is everyone doing here?" Dani countered, trying to find equilibrium. She leaned against the wall, and Nico's presence was tempting. She wanted to go to him, stand with him, the two of them against... all of that.

"We came because Laura had the paternity results," Matt began. "What is going on here? Thought you were going home, Nico."

"I did. TK has already been informed of the results and is speaking to Cherise inside that room," Nico explained, his voice cold as he gestured behind them. Dani frowned. Just how badly _had _Matt taken that kiss on the cheek? It was a damn good thing that they had come after the _real _kiss had finished.

Nico's phone rang, and he moved away from the wall as he answered it. Dani was really starting to hate that thing. Laura opened her binder. "I have a few ideas about—"

"TK is still talking to Cherise. This is his decision to make," Dani interrupted, getting a look from both Laura and Matt. She folded her arms over her chest. Jeanette bit her lip. She could tell this was going to get ugly, and Dani nodded to the finger she pointed in the other direction. "Devin, would you mind going with Jeanette to get us all something to drink? I'll keep an eye on those presents for your mom, and you can give them to her when you get back."

"Sure," Devin said, passing Dani the balloon and the bear and running off with Jeanette. Sometimes it was nice—kids that age liked to be helpful, and that could be... well, exploited. It was for a good cause and not that they got drinks.

"If the boy isn't his son," Laura began, "then the decision is already made. The Hawks can continue to fund the hospital bills, and we can arrange for a settlement, and then Devin and Cherise can return home. It's very simple."

"No, it's not. You're not hearing me. TK is making his own decision about his future with Devin," Dani insisted. Laura looked at Matt, and he started to say something, but she held up her hand. "TK needs to do this. He's been pushed enough. This is what he has to work out for himself. You can't just pay them to go away or you will lose TK completely."

"Dani, can't you... nudge him in the right direction?" Matt asked. "Letting the boy go is in TK's best interest. He's not meant to be a father."

Dani rubbed her forehead. Yes, it seemed like it was best if TK just let go, but it wasn't that simple. "Give him time to figure this out on his own. He needs it. Nico?"

He covered the mouth piece on his phone. "No payments will be authorized and no one will be leaving until Terrence has made his decision. In case you're wondering, that edict comes from Pittman and not just from Dr. Santino or myself. Pittman wants this settled once and for all."

Dani blinked. "Really?"

Nico nodded. He went back to his conversation on the phone. "No, sir, the situation is under control. Yes, I can be there in twenty minutes."

Dani watched as he hung up and put his phone away. "So... you're going?"

Nico forced a smile. "Late for dinner with my sister. She is not amused. We can continue our... discussion later."

"Oh, we are _definitely _finishing that conversation," she agreed, unable to help the smile. Nico came back close to her, bending to whisper in her ear. His lips brushed her skin, and she shivered a little.

"You're certain about this?" he asked. She nodded, though she shouldn't do it. She knew better, but after that kiss, she didn't know how to say no. "Very well. I give you permission to call me with an 'emergency' to take me away from dinner."

He pulled away and started to leave, and she shook her head, turning to call after him. "Your sister can't be _that _bad, can she? Hey, Nico, don't get caught by any ex-husbands with crazy stupid friends again, okay?"

He looked back at her. "It never happens twice."

"It had better not."

* * *

><p>"They're kind of cute together," Jeanette observed, joining Dani in the doorway. Dani looked over at her with a half-smile. It was cute, TK and and Devin, and sweet, but it was going to explode any minute. The truth was that TK's relationship with Cherise was already long since over. A night of passion that dissipated quickly, and they had nothing to build on. It would never be the idealistic family that the little boy wanted, the one that the image before them seemed to be.<p>

"I don't think that TK getting involved with Cherise again is a good idea," Dani began worriedly. She hoped that wasn't part of TK's current plan.

"Are you really talking about TK and Cherise or are you talking about you and Nico?"

"I knew it wouldn't take long for you to bring that up."

"Honey, you brought that up when you kissed him in public. And that was not just any kiss. I swear, I have not seen a steamier kiss in any movie or photo—nothing. I mean, there are epic kisses out there—_Gone with the Wind, Thornbirds, Cassablanca, From Here to Eternity, Roxanne—"_

"_Roxanne?"_

"The huge and so fake-looking nose, Dani, work with me here," Jeanette said, and Dani sighed. She could feel the weight of her phone in her pocket and wondered if the fact that she hadn't called Nico meant that she wasn't as committed to this as she'd been when he left. She'd _said _yes, but if she meant it, why hadn't she taken him up on his offer?

She knew why. They were both too responsible to walk away from everything. His responsibility to his family—his sister—kept him from leaving that dinner on his own and coming back to Dani, and Dani's responsibility kept her here, where her patient was. Maybe that was enough. Maybe all the chaos and crisis and situations would keep them apart even as much as they'd thrown them together. When were they supposed to get a moment alone? It wasn't like that kiss had been private, or really any of their interaction of late. Even if they were the only ones in the room, someone had been nearby. No, it just wasn't going to work.

"Okay, that is your thinking too much face, and that face is a bad face," Jeanette began, taking hold of Dani's shoulders. "Look at me. Look at them. They're fine. They don't need you, and if they did, they'd call you. You know what you have to do as a parent sometimes—and yes, you hate it just as much with your children as you do with your patients—but you have to let them go. You have to let them make their own decisions. You have to let them live their lives. You put up a fight to give TK the chance to make this decision—"

"But the mighty Pittman actually said to let him do it. That's what shut up Laura Radcliffe."

"Ah, but which Pittman? The Pittman who is a multimillion dollar control freak or the one that has an older brother who is in love with you?"

"Nico is not in love with me. We had one kiss. One," Dani objected, and then winced as she remembered the kiss on the cheek that was not up for discussion. "Jeanette, please, I know you think you're helping, and I love you for it, but stop. I don't have—I can't do this right now."

"Is it the rules? Where were the rules when you kissed him?"

"I don't know! I have no idea, but you know what? They should have been there!" Dani realized that her voice was getting loud and moved away from the hospital room, Jeanette rushing after her. "I should be a professional. I'm not. I'm acting like a person who has no idea about people, not a therapist. I'm being a control freak mother and not a therapist. I'm acting like a school girl with a crush and not a divorcee with two children who should be a therapist. On top of everything that's going on, there's this weird quadrangle with Matt who's involved with Laura but seems to have feelings for me still, and I have to admit that I'm still attracted to him. I said I had to be professional so I didn't let things with Matt continue as much as I wanted them. Now I'm in the middle of something—I'm not sure what this thing is right now—with Nico, and I just feel... I don't know. Maybe it's that instinctual need to challenge boundaries and break rules, but if it was just about breaking rules, why didn't I say to hell with Laura and go after Matt?"

"Because as much as you liked him, when you saw him with that other woman, you made the decision to move on with your life just like you made the decision to move on after Ray. If Matt is stuck back on you, then he shouldn't be with Laura. And that is _his _problem, honey, not yours. I'm sorry, but he moved on first. He doesn't get to be angry when you do the same. He has to face up to the change and accept it. It's possible this thing with Nico will blow over and you might find yourself in the same place as Matt and want something more again, but that is not where you are now."

"Everyone in my life is a better therapist than me," Dani said, shaking her head. Nico, Jeanette, even _Ray Jay _had better insights into people than she did right now.

"Maybe right now, what you really need is some good old-fashioned therapy."

Dani frowned at her friend, but then Jeanette turned her around and pushed her forward so that she stumbled awkwardly and almost fell right into Nico. He caught her arms and helped her stand up straight as Jeanette smirked a little, waving to them as she made a quick exit.

"You still sure you want her around?"

Dani made a face, looking up at Nico. It was terrible, but she didn't want him to let her go. Not for a second. It felt good being close to him again. "You had better be joking."

"You did almost fall."

"That has got to be a record for shortest family dinner ever," Dani commented, changing the subject. She didn't want to think about her lack of grace there. She probably looked ridiculous. Nico smiled slightly, and she got the feeling he was humoring her. "What, it wasn't a family dinner?"

"It never ceases to amaze me the pressure women put on themselves to remain thin. My sister hardly eats at all, and dinner becomes a long tirade about things I care nothing about. It does remind me a lot of being married."

There it was again. He'd been married. "Oh?"

"Has TK made a decision yet?"

"You're changing the subject."

"The resolution to TK's crisis is on everyone's mind. If he'd reached a decision, then there would be a reasonable expectation of sleeping through the night without someone calling about his latest disappearance or crazy idea," Nico said, and Dani reached in his pocket for his phone.

"You know what? As nuts as I know this will drive you because I can't stand it, either, you cannot have this back for the rest of the night. You are going to let all of the Hawks' problems and anything else that might come up with the Pittman Group. It's all going to have to wait until morning."

"Why would I do that?" he countered. "It would take more than you keeping my phone from me to stop me from dealing with the problems, and I _was _a SEAL. I could easily get that back from you right now."

She nodded slowly, a playful smile on her face. Oh, this was fire, and she was sure as hell going to burn. Trouble was, she thought it would all be worth it. Everything. The loss of the professional boundaries, the potential awkwardness, the way they'd have to learn to work with each other all over again, the fact that she knew so little of him, her children not being ready for her to date, the mess with TK, the assumption Ray and Rudy had made and the stabbing, the complicated situation with Matt and how this would not go over well there—all of it seemed worth it when Nico was with her. She didn't understand, didn't want to be some weak woman who lost all control as soon as the man came around.

That wasn't how she felt, though. Being with Nico was surprising in so many ways, but she was free. She spoke her mind, and he actually _listened_ to her, didn't interrupt with opinions or platitudes. She didn't get that from many people. One, actually, other than Nico. Jeanette.

Dani smiled. "Of course you could. But I think you'd rather earn it back."

"Earn it?"

She took his hand. "Come with me."


	16. An Affinity

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,586  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Right, so I considered titling this chapter "an intimacy." And then I knew I'd get all sorts of wrong impressions because of what Dani says... Too many people confuse sex with intimacy, and it's not the same thing. So, "affinity" it is. I like affinity. :)

* * *

><p><strong>An Affinity<strong>

"I think most people who heard that particular invitation of yours would have assumed that they were in for something sexual and even perhaps kinky when you took their hand," Nico observed. Next to him, Santino blushed and sighed as she readjusted her position on his shoulder. She had apparently decided that he made a better pillow than any of the others in the room, though he failed to see why. Still, she did have a habit of gravitating towards his shoulder and leaning against him.

"It's not that it wasn't a tempting thought," she began, and he waited, wanting to her explanation for the simple and yet complicated stipulation she'd put on returning his phone to him. He had gone along with her mostly out of curiosity. He could have taken the phone back at any time, and if she thought that was the only way that people notified him of things involving the team, she was sadly mistaken. "But you got stabbed yesterday. We only had one kiss. Even though we've worked together for a while, I'm not the type that jumps into bed with a man right away. I did it once, and yeah, it was exciting and changed my life, but—Oh, damn, I'm talking too much."

Nico looked over at her with amusement. "I don't think you talk too much."

"Oh, I do. I talk a lot. In therapy. At my kids. With Jeanette. With Matt. With you. And when I'm nervous, I babble. I babble like crazy," she disagreed, letting out another sigh. "I can't even stop now."

"This makes you nervous."

"It's... I know that most people wouldn't think of this as all that intimate, since both of us are wearing clothes—okay, so they're pajamas, but still—we're not having wild, passionate sex. They don't really understand intimacy because they confuse the physical part for the ultimate in intimacy, but it's not. Connections form that go far beyond that. Friends can be more intimate than any lover. I mean, I slept with Matt but he doesn't know me like Jeanette."

Nico nodded, and Dani sat up, putting a hand to her mouth, horrified. "I can't believe I'm talking about that with you. God, what is wrong with me? I don't want to be throwing Matt in your face like that. It really is over between us. I don't—I didn't like that he was with Laura, but he deserved to be happy, and I knew that. I moved on. Then there was that thing with Ray where I almost made a mistake—I'm doing it again. Don't listen to me. Duct tape my mouth shut or something."

Nico laughed, reaching up to coax her back down against him. "I like that you're willing to talk to me about anything. I find honesty refreshing. Too much of what I deal with on a daily basis is the result of lies. Lies also waste my time. It's simpler to cut through all of that."

"So you're always honest?"

"As much as I can be. Some situations don't really allow for honesty," he admitted. He ran his fingers through her hair. "There is one thing. If you wanted to make sure I fall asleep, you probably should stop talking."

"You'd probably fake it and slip away the moment that I got up."

He had to admit that he'd considered it. "And your children? What did you tell them about the fact that the guest bedroom was being used by a _different _man this time? One that is not your patient?"

She shrugged. "The truth. That their idiot father's friend stabbed you and I was going to keep you here to make sure you got some rest."

Nico looked at her, surprised. "You told them all that?"

"Not exactly in those terms. I told them that because you and I were working so closely together on the TK situation that their father had gotten the wrong idea—at the time it was, though I'm going to have to find a way to explain that it's not anymore—and that his friend Rudy thought he was helping... and that was pretty much all I had to say."

"They know this Rudy that well?"

"One of the few things my daughter and I agree on anymore is our hatred of Rudy Valenti," Dani said with a laugh. "I feel like she's slipping away from me. She used to be my little girl, you know. I'd put her in dresses, we'd play dress up, and we'd go to the park. I used to help her with her homework. She told me about the first boy she liked, and now it's like I don't know her at all. We don't talk. We yell and fight and scream..."

"Though I have little personal experience with it, I think that's typical of the teenage years. Some children don't rebel or they do so quietly. Your daughter chooses to do so in a very obvious manner. Your son is less overt."

Dani sat up again. "What do you know about my son? What has he done? What is he keeping from me? This is worse than the whole TK merchandising scam, isn't it?"

Nico took a moment, trying to decide what to tell her. He knew far more than she did in some respects, and he doubted she was ready to hear some of what he knew. Then again, he should not hold the information back from her, either. She should know, but if Nico disclosed certain details of TK's interactions with Ray Jay—most notably the club/car incident—then Santino would likely refuse to work with TK again. That would have to wait, at least until after the custody matter was decided.

"Nico?"

"There is very little to tell. On the whole, your son is as he appears on the surface: an intelligent, well-liked athlete. Some of the attention is perhaps excessive and could be... sexual, though I admit I tried not to look too closely into that aspect. The part that would concern most people is his friendship with TK," Nico began, and she groaned as she laid back, this time on the pillow instead of him. "However, I would hazard to say that your son's friendship with TK is actually beneficial for them both. With your son, TK displays a level of responsibility that he does not with any of his other friends or girlfriends. He actively looks out for Ray Jay. If not for him, any semblance of taking care of Devin might have been out of the question."

"So you know about the multiple girlfriend thing?"

"That, as your daughter would say, is wishful thinking. While he associates closely with more than one girl, none of them consider themselves his girlfriend."

Santino winced. "I don't even want to know how you know all of this."

"It's best if you don't," Nico agreed. "Are you going to give me my phone back now?"

"No. I told you the deal. You had to remain still for an entire night and actually sleep and..." She trailed off for a moment and regarded him suspiciously. "Why the hell would you agree to that, anyway?"

He leaned over and kissed her, just a brief one this time. "For the company."

* * *

><p>It was not particularly surprising to Dani that she woke up alone the next morning. The only real question was whether Nico had left in the middle of the night—after locating his phone—or this morning, shortly before she woke up. She sat up slowly, stretching before she put her feet on the floor and crossed back to her own bedroom. She went to the dresser and checked the top drawer, smiling a little as she found she was still in custody of the phone. Either he was too polite to go through her intimate apparel drawer or he hadn't figured out where the phone was. She actually felt like that was some kind of victory, though she wasn't entirely sure why.<p>

She quickly showered, dressed, and headed downstairs. It was about when her foot hit the bottom step when she realized that it was way too quiet. Unnaturally so. This could not be good. This time of the morning was usually spent with frantic phone calls and hurried kids yelling at each other as they rushed off barely in time for school.

Today, though, no sound. She half-expected to see something crazy—a pink elephant or something—walk right past her only to be followed by her eyes opening a second time.

Cautiously, she walked into her kitchen. Now the silence made perfect sense. Her children were sitting at the table, in the middle of their breakfast—though if Lindsay thought that counted as breakfast she was sorely mistaken—but neither of them seemed able to eat. They would look down, attempt to take a bite, and then their eyes would fly back to Nico, who was fighting a smile as he leaned against a counter, drinking his coffee.

Fully dressed, Dani might add. This was the impervious Nico, the one that seemed invulnerable and above the things mere mortals needed like food, showers, and sleep. He looked... good. Too good. The kind of good that was going to get her in a lot of trouble—and in front of her kids, most likely.

He held out a cup to her and she went to his side to take it from him. "I assume that my phone is no longer being held hostage?"

She took a sip of her coffee. "I think that I should keep it. At least until you see a real doctor for those stitches."

"The Hawks have a doctor. I verified his medical background myself," Nico said. "The stitches are fine. I wouldn't have had any further problems if not for the intervention of someone who'd had too much to drink."

"Dude, was that our dad's friend, too? Because... we are really sorry," Ray Jay began. Lindsay smacked him across the table. Dani's eyes narrowed. She could hear her own voice echoing the many, many times she'd said _don't hit your brother/sister _in the past fifteen years, and they should have known better by now.

"Speak for yourself," Lindsay muttered. "It's not our fault Rudy's an idiot."

"Can we see your stitches?"

Dani frowned. "Ray Jay, why on earth would you want to see Nico's stitches?"

"Because they have a bet over whether or not your story is true, and I believe a certain essay is one of the prizes," Nico answered, causing Lindsay to drop her spoon as Ray Jay choked a bit on his orange juice. He coughed, and Lindsay patted her brother on the back with a worried look at Nico.

"And you see, children, Nico knows _all," _Dani said with amusement. She turned to him. "I suppose that you already found a way to learn the current status of all the Hawks, Cherise's recovery, and TK's decision about Devin, didn't you?"

"Shane Givens is doing work for his charity again. Booz has returned from his trip to see his brother, and I think you'll need to do an extra session with him this week. Bobby Caldwell's wife is filling for divorce. Billy Rhodes is sending you another race track set out of gratitude, and Cherise is making good progress. Her mother is not. TK has not informed anyone of any decision yet, but I believe he'll call you soon."

"Okay, how _do _you do that?" she asked, and he shrugged. "You have more than one phone, don't you?"

"Almost every device these days is wifi enabled," Nico reminded her, and she nodded, making a face. He had all kinds of toys, didn't he? "Still, I do prefer my phone."

"That's where Dad kept all his pictures of other women," Ray Jay said, and Lindsay looked over at him with a glare. He shrugged. "Well, it was. I saw it in the—"

"In the divorce paperwork that you have no business reading?" Dani finished pointedly. He looked down at his plate. "You better not have those kinds pictures on _your _phone, Mister."

"I don't," Ray Jay insisted immediately, and Lindsay rolled her eyes.

She shook her head. "He's totally lying. Must be a guy thing. Do you have those kind of pictures on your phone, Nico? It _is_ Nico, right?"

"Actually, yes," Nico admitted, and Dani looked over at him. No. That had to be a joke. He didn't really have that kind of thing on his phone. He was not Ray. She was not doing that again. "Only because I have feeds from several sites and twitters and other things that the players get into in order to monitor the situation. I have no control over what they view or post, but there have been some pictures in the past that resulted in suspension of accounts, fines, and divorces."

"Aren't you lucky?" Dani felt a bit spiteful and couldn't help mocking him. The last thing she wanted was another Ray—but that didn't make Nico's explanation any easier to swallow. "You have an excuse to look at porn."

"If I wanted to view it, I assure you that nothing could stop me, but I don't," he said, that tone creeping back into his voice. The cold one, the one that meant that she'd gone too far. She shouldn't have said it like that, but sometimes his job just made her sick. "I'd like the phone back."

"You'll just leave if I don't give it back, right?"

He nodded. "Yes. I have things to take care of, and I'm no longer amused by your attempts at being a medical doctor."

"Wow," she said, having taken a sip of her coffee at the wrong moment. She almost dribbled some of it all over her face. She set the cup aside. Better if she _didn't _have that right now. "You have an extremely short fuse, don't you?"

"Not with most people," he disagreed, frowning a little. She had to admit; he did seem to have something more like the patient of a saint—not that she was saying he was one, just that he had a remarkable amount of self-restraint—but with her it was different.

"What is it about me, then?"

He smiled. "You already know the answer to that one."

She felt one of those stupid grins overtake her face, partially because he was right and she _did _know, and partially because she was relieved that they weren't fighting anymore and partially because she'd figured out that when he looked at her like that he wanted to kiss her. She liked the way he kissed her. She liked it a lot.

She tried to be casual—both of the kids probably saw right through it; she knew Nico did—when she spoke. "Let's get you your phone then."

He set down his empty cup and walked with her out of the kitchen. She let him go first through the door and then shoved it shut behind them. No sooner had she done that than he was kissing her. _I've got to find a way to tell the kids about this..._


	17. A Compromise

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,556  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: The constant back and forth... it's just never ending. I'd say they can't make up their minds, but they can. They have.

Anyway, I wanted this up before the new episode airs. I have such a bad feeling about it... I hope I'm wrong.

* * *

><p><strong>A Compromise<strong>

"Someone's in a good mood today," TK observed, and Dani froze. She hadn't realized that she gave that much away. She'd barely walked into the room. Was there something in the way she walked? Was she smiling too much? Nico's kisses did put her in a really, _really _good mood, but she knew that she didn't have a hickey or anything _that _obvious. Her hair was straight, her make-up was fine, her clothes were neat, and they hadn't done anything since they left her house besides talk. Her car was still at the hospital since they'd taken his last night—he seemed to have a very male need to be behind the wheel if he was in the car—and so they'd driven in together, but that conversation had been... tame. Nothing worth ridiculous smiles that would give her away to TK.

She frowned as TK picked up the stapler from the desk and threw it across the room. She sighed. "And someone is _not._ Okay. Talk to me, TK."

"Nice to see that you finally got some from Nico. Meanwhile, I'm in crisis, and where have you been?" TK demanded, and she quickly felt her good mood vanishing.

"What I did last night was sleep, like any normal person does. I had my phone. You could have called if it was an emergency," she reminded him, trying to stay calm. What was it with TK and always using her relationship with Nico—whatever it happened to be at the time—against her? "You had a long talk with Cherise yesterday. Were you able to discuss Devin's future?"

"We talked. She admitted she lied. She just wants him to have a dad."

"Every mother wants that. They may not want the child's biological father—God knows I really would rather Ray wasn't a part of my kids' lives, and that's only because of what he did to me. I know other women who don't want their children's father around because of what he has done to the children. Still, most of us know there's a reason why there are two parents, why children want a father or a mother..."

TK sat down in the nearest chair, letting out a frustrated sigh. "It's not me, though. Devin ain't mine. He's just—"

"He's a boy who needs a father. And you want to be that father."

"I thought I did, but—what if I just wanted to make you mad? What if I was just... blowing hot air like I always do? I talk a lot of crap, Doctor D. A lot of it is stuff I don't mean, don't even know what I'm saying," TK admitted. He sighed. "What am I supposed to do? Cherise says she'll go back to Chicago, but Nico said her mom's in rehab. What are they going back to?"

Dani shook her head. She didn't know. Nico might. He'd taken Cherise's mother from somewhere—perhaps where Cherise and Devin lived. She wondered just how bad their situation was. "Did you ask Nico? He was in Chicago. He probably knows."

"Nico knows... like everything, don't he?"

"Seems to. Do you want to ask him? Maybe that would give you a sense of what you could realistically do for Devin and Cherise," Dani began, and TK gave her a hard look. She wasn't suggesting it because she wanted to see Nico again—though she wouldn't mind that. "What can it hurt to ask?"

"Fine. Ask."

She shook her head. "You ask. This is something for you. To help you make your decision. If you want to know, then you can ask Nico. I know you have his number."

TK sighed. He dug out his phone and pushed a speed dial button. "Nico. Yeah, got a question for you. You mind coming to see your girlfriend? I thought not."

"TK—"

"Chill, Doctor D. He's coming. Should be here any second. Like magic, poof, he'll appear out of nowhere," TK joked, putting his phone away again. Sure enough, barely a second later, there was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she called, and Nico walked in. He looked at TK and then at her. "We were discussing his decision. I thought you could give him more information."

"So this was your idea?"

"Not entirely. Nico, you went to Chicago. You interacted with Cherise's mother. You're the only one other than Cherise who knows how their living situation is."

Nico nodded. He turned to TK. "I do not want to prejudice your decision in either way, but it is my understanding that Cherise is several months behind in rent and likely facing eviction. Her mother's welfare checks have all gone to feed her addiction. They had very little inside their home, though Devin had plenty of toys. The sacrifices were made on her part, not his."

TK shook his head. "So he's homeless if we send him back. Can't we do something about that? Nico, you know everyone. You know someone who could help Cherise out with a job to get her on her feet? And I don't mean as a stripper or nothing. Something that'll support her and Devin?"

Dani leaned against her desk, surprised by TK's question. Nico thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "She's not ready to work yet."

Dani couldn't help noticing that Nico hadn't committed himself one way or the other. It wasn't that she thought Cherise deserved a free ride—what she'd done to TK, the stalking, the lies—the woman needed to face consequences for that. Still, the accident had changed things, left Cherise in a bad position, and Nico didn't have to _force _anyone to give the woman a job.

"Yeah, but the Hawks aren't going to pay for everything forever. She'll need to get back on her feet. And I don't know that she should go home. We could help set her up here, couldn't we?"

"The cost of living here is a lot higher," Nico began, and TK frowned. "If you took her typical wages from back home, they would cover fifteen percent less than they did before, on average. Her settlement for the accident will help, but it may not be enough to make that transition."

"Always the money with you."

Dani shook her head. What Nico brought up was a valid point. Things would change drastically for Cherise if she moved, and if she had trouble making ends meet before, it might be harder here.

Nico went for the door. "It is not always about the money. The financial aspect is only one part of any given situation. I only bring it up to illustrate the complexities of what may seem to you a simple solution. Does Cherise have any secondary education? Any technical skills?"

"I... don't know," TK began hesitantly. He frowned, turning back to Nico. "Don't you?"

Nico nodded, his hand on the door handle. "She dropped out of her vocational school after completing her first semester."

"So... Maybe she could go back to that, then."

Nico looked at him. "I don't think that's your decision to make."

TK shook his head, not getting it. Nico opened the door and started to leave. Dani wanted to call out to him, to keep him here, but that wasn't possible. This was TK's session, not her personal time. She and Nico had to be able to work together and not get distracted by what was between them. It was almost working.

"What does he mean?"

"That if Cherise is going back to school or moving, then she needs to make that decision for herself and for her son. You can't make it for her."

"But how am I supposed to be involved in Devin's life at all if he's in another state? I go to Chicago, what, once a year? Or less? I can't do nothing for him if he don't stick around here."

Dani nodded. TK sat back, thinking again. "So... I have to talk to Cherise again."

"Yes. But you know what?" Dani asked, and TK looked at her with a frown. "You made half the decision already. You know you're going to be a part of Devin's life."

TK grinned at her.

* * *

><p>"So I still don't have my car."<p>

Nico looked over at the doorway, where Santino stood, leaning against the frame. Her arms were folded over her chest, but she had a rather infectious smile on her face. He set down his pen and studied her for a moment. "Are you suggesting that I arrange transportation for you?"

She shook her head slowly, moving from the doorway and over to his desk, sitting on the corner of it. "I have met the drivers you hired for the team, and it intrigues me that you have men—and women—who must be body builders on the side and no doubt keep other jobs in private security, but I'd rather not have one of them shuttle me around."

"Really? You could hardly be safer with them, and I understand some people find them very easy on the eyes."

She laughed and then leaned over like she was divulging a confidential secret. "I prefer to choose based on the company. Don't you?"

Nico nodded. "Yes. That is generally why I drive everywhere myself."

"Hmm," she said, considering for a moment. Her lips curved wickedly. "I thought that to be with the whole alpha male lone wolf thing you had going on."

He shook his head. "Most wolves are actually pack animals, and I am not a leader. I prefer to work behind the scenes. Also, the theory of an alpha wolf has been debunked and is no longer considered valid. Alpha males of other species still exist, though I suppose if you are applying the lone wolf term in the sense of the more literary application—where a person prefers solitude and independence, who is emotionally distant and unable to connect to others. Usually stoic, reserved—and you would argue, _me." _

"If I truly believed that you were emotionally distant and unable to connect to others, I don't think we'd be having this conversation right now," she admitted, and he looked down to see her hand was covering his. Again with the public displays. "And you are reserved, though I'm not sure about stoic. Are you a big fan of Seneca?"

"Not particularly. I disagree with the the idea that 'virtue is sufficient for happiness,'" he told her. "One can be virtuous and be miserable, not to mention that virtue is no protection from the unforeseen consequences of the natural chaos that is life."

She bit her lip. "You were that kid that thought if he could just be perfect enough you could stop your father from drinking, keep him from... hurting you, weren't you?"

Nico tensed. "I never said my father was abusive."

"It kind of got implied when you mentioned that he was a drunk. The way you said it said a lot, Nico," she told him, and Nico pulled his hand from under hers. This wasn't a subject he was prepared to discuss, not here and not now.

"I can take you to your car, if you like," he offered, getting to his feet and picking up his coat.

She sighed. "You know this isn't going to work if you won't open up to me at all. I'm _nosy. _I'll keep bugging you about things until you get so sick of me you'll want to make me disappear."

He shook his head, stopping to touch her face. "I doubt that. However, there is a time and a place for everything, and this is _not _the time to discuss that particular subject. If you are unwilling to accept that certain topics are off-limits unless I say otherwise, then, yes, this will not work."

She reached up to touch his hand. "Are you ever going to be willing to talk to me about this?"

"Are you willing to tell your kids and Donnally what you decided?"

She nodded, letting her hand fall. "I'm going to tell the kids tonight. No waiting. I swear. As for Matt... That is a whole different ball game, and I'm going to need to figure that out. The kids almost seem easier. Why is that? My daughter hates everything I do, and my son seems terrified of you, so why would it be easier?"

"Because you're not breaking your own self-imposed rules with them. As I recall, you were the one that broke things off with Donnally in order to keep your work here professional. He has no qualms about dating a coworker."

"Neither do you."

Nico shook his head. "I have never dated anyone employed by the Pittman Group before. Nor have I ever been tempted to in the past. You are the exception."

"Ah."

"Is that a problem?"

She shook her head. She smiled at him. "I'm flattered, actually. Really. I am just—I came in here after TK and I talked and he realized—and I think this is a breakthrough for him—that he couldn't make the decisions _for _Cherise and Devin. He has to make them with her if he wants to be involved in Devin's life. He knows that he wants to be. I'm not sure that he's figured the exact role yet, but he needs time to make that choice. Maybe I was just riding the high from that because I came in here expecting something completely different."

"One thing I've already figured out about this... thing between us is that it will continue to surprise us. Its very existence is a surprise, after all. You saw Donnally as your future—a future he foolishly forsook, I might add—and I have been used to being alone. I had things as I wanted them. Then you came along. Things changed."

"Yes, they certainly did," she agreed. "This isn't going to be easy, is it?"

He shook his head. "Anything easy is by nature questionable. You don't want this to be easy any more than I do."

"I think we should go," she said, swallowing with difficulty. He frowned at her, not sure if she was attempting to bury the doubts again or if this was something else—possibly an end. She leaned close to him. "I _really, _really want you to kiss me right now, but this is _so _not the place for that, and TK's situation is under control, so... we're free. Free to be like normal people and have dinner or do something that is not about work or a crisis or anything to do with the name Pittman. I mean, there's that crazy part of me that would just yank you into the nearest bedroom but I know it's too soon for that and I... I am babbling again."

He smiled at her. "It's... cute."

She made a face. "Ugh."

"Let's start by getting your car back to your house. We can decide on the next step after that."


	18. A Revelation

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,744  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani (eventually)  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: There. I finally, with the help of the other fics I did, get past the latest episode and was able to return to this story. And I was thinking about it... I already made Mrs. Pittman Nico's sister in this universe, so there will never, ever be any Nico/Mrs. Pittman here.

Yay!

* * *

><p><strong>A Revelation<strong>

"It's true, isn't it?" Lindsay demanded, rushing down the stairs. Dani frowned at her daughter, wondering what she was talking about. Ray Jay came out of his room, joining his sister at the bottom of the stairs. She shoved a phone in Dani's face, and Dani blinked, then bit back a curse as she saw TK's latest tweet. "It is, isn't it?"

She was trying to find a way to answer when there was a knock on the door. She turned back to open it, knowing who would be there. Nico looked at her. "We have a situation."

"Yeah. Lindsay just showed me TK's little tweet."

Nico looked over at Lindsay. She glared back at him. Ray Jay didn't glare, but his expression wasn't all that warm or anything, either. Nico's gaze turned back to Dani. "I could have him make a retraction."

"What's the point if it's true?" Lindsay demanded. "You're sleeping with our mom."

"Yes and no. In the sense you mean—sexually—no. However, we _did _sleep in the same room last night," Nico corrected. Dani touched his arm. That was not going to help their case, not now. He looked down at her. "Let me guess. You want to handle this yourself."

"You really are a very insightful man."

"Hardly. That was very obvious."

She couldn't help but laugh. She wanted to kiss him again, but she figured that was a bad idea. And what was with the constantly wanting to kiss him? What, was she a kissing _addict_ now? "I'm sure you have some other situation to handle, don't you?"

"At the moment, no, but I suppose I could find something to amuse myself if—"

She yanked him down by his coat, cutting off whatever else he would have said with a kiss. She shouldn't have, not in front of the kids, but he was driving her crazy with the talking and the need for a kiss was more than she cared to resist at that particular moment. He caught her around the waist just as her legs got a little weak, but he didn't stop the kiss, not right away.

Nico pulled back. "I am not sure that was the way to handle this... announcement."

Dani looked over at her children, both with stunned expressions on their faces. They looked somewhat horrified. "Probably not. I'm just easily distracted these days, and if you would have gone instead of talking, then I could have resisted temptation."

"I am not to blame for your lack of willpower," he said. He looked at the kids and then back at her. "We could move them."

"Or we could move ourselves."

"I thought you wanted to discuss this with them."

"I do. I need to. I'm just—" she turned and snapped her fingers in front of her son's eyes. "Okay, the act was funny for a while, but you can stop now. I know it didn't really make you catatonic to see your mother get kissed. Your father used to kiss me in front of you, so I know it's not that foreign a concept."

"Uh," Ray Jay stuttered, looking over at Lindsay. He tugged on her arm, and she came out of it, glaring at him. He gave her a pointed look.

"What Ray Jay is trying to say is that Dad never kissed you like that in front of us. I swear, there was _tongue action _there. I don't think I'll ever be the same after that. I'm... traumatized for life."

"Your books do say that children have a hard time seeing their parents as sexual beings," Ray Jay added, recovering a bit. Dani swallowed hard. Sex. Now that was a logical progression of where this thing between her and Nico was going, but she apparently wasn't ready to think about that yet. Oh, she kind of had after the kisses—if they were that good, then the sex would have to be _insanely _good, right?—but she wasn't ready yet.

Part of her was. Part of her was _very _ready. She wanted Nico. Right here, right now. Well, not right here since the kids were here, but close to it. At the same time, she was not ready to go further. She felt like she'd rushed things with Ray—ended up pregnant—she didn't regret her children, but she wasn't ready when she was seventeen. She loved Ray Jay. She loved Lindsay, but if she could have had a couple more years before having a family. And then Matt... She'd certainly rushed in there.

She really wished she could stop thinking about that. She didn't always have to have her past come up, didn't have to have every bad judgment come back to haunt her. She knew that the past was always going to affect her, but she knew that it couldn't be used as an excuse, that the fear of repeating it couldn't keep her from living.

She forced the implications of that thought out of her head.

"Ray Jay, what have I told you about reading my books?" she asked, and he flinched, but he was looking at Nico, but not her.

"If I—You're so going to make him the one that disciplines us, aren't you?"

Dani looked over at Nico. He was just standing there, and he almost looked innocent. "Are you terrorizing my children now?"

"I haven't done anything. It's not my place."

"He's totally going to kill us," Lindsay said. "You picked like... an axe murderer or something."

"Nico, do you own an axe?"

"Point of fact, I don't need one to kill. SEAL training," he reminded her. She saw her kids gulp, and he shook his head. "I don't kill. There are far more effective methods to handle situations than death. Death is far too... permanent."

"Permanent?"

Dani started laughing. She couldn't help it. "Okay, okay, Nico, no more scaring the kids. Let's go sit down and have an actual discussion. If it will keep you two from being distracted, Nico will not join us."

"No," Lindsay said, and Dani looked at her. She shrugged. "We have a lot of questions. I mean. How? Why? When?"

"Who and what have apparently already been answered," Nico said, and Dani smiled. She knew that it shouldn't be so funny, but she was enjoying Nico's dry sense of humor more and more. "Perhaps it would be best if you ordered in? I don't believe anyone has eaten yet."

"Chinese," Lindsay said immediately. "I want some—"

"Sweet and sour chicken and egg rolls with a side of hot mustard," Nico said. Everyone looked at him, and he shrugged a little as he took out his phone and called their favorite Chinese restaurant. He walked away as he placed the order.

"He really does know everything, doesn't he?" Ray Jay asked, looking at his sister and then at Dani. She smiled. She couldn't believe how much she was enjoying this. It used to bother her, how much Nico knew about her and how little she knew about him, but she was beginning to accept that as a part of who he was. She was learning more and more about him as she spent more time with him, and that was only natural.

He was a mystery that she would enjoy learning more about, no matter how long it took.

* * *

><p>"Oh," Santino muttered with a moan, rubbing her sore neck. "That was one of the <em>longest <em>and most uncomfortable conversations of my life. How was it for you?"

Nico touched her shoulder gently, and she backed into him, seeming to want more of the touch. He was no masseuse or physical therapist, but he did believe that sometimes it wasn't the level of skill that a person had but how much the other person needed to feel that touch at that particular time. "I found it amusing, actually."

"Yes, because you can be amused. They're not your children. They weren't interrogating—I mean, they were interrogating you, but you're not their mother. It's different."

"Of course," he agreed, continuing to massage the spot on her neck. She was making quiet noises and moving against him. He doubted that she had any idea the effect those two things were starting to have on him. He should stop, now, unless they wanted to take this further. He wasn't sure either of them was prepared for that. Physically, yes, but the implications beyond that... Not so much. "Are you disappointed with the way that conversation went?"

She took a deep breath. "Well... no. It went surprisingly well. I didn't expect either of them to be as understanding as they were. It's not like their father has been gone for that long, and dating after a divorce is always tricky. It doesn't help that Ray was trying to get back with me before the reunion. I think they got a reminder of what it was like when we were all a family, like I did, and we all felt tempted. It might have been easy to go back to what we'd been."

"Then why didn't you?"

She reached up to touch his hand. "You stopped."

"The discussion was not going in the same direction as the physical actions," he explained, and she frowned at him. He leaned close to her ear. "Those noises you make are rather provocative, and even... cute."

"Ugh, stop calling me 'cute,'" she grumbled, and her head bumped against his chest.

"You would rather be referred to as 'ridiculously hot?'"

"Do you bug _every _room that you're in?"

"No. I would never have enough time to do that. Still, it is impossible not to hear things. Don't look at me like that. I doubt you had any idea where I was in the room until the fight broke out between Shane Givens and TK."

"So... you were spying on me and Matt?"

"I was gravitating between two potential hot spots. If you think I was unaware of your relationship with Donnally, you are mistaken. I only monitored it because of the conflict of interest that might arise. It quickly became a non-issue. TK is always the focus around the Hawks. Are you angry?"

She shook her head, though it was hard to believe when she pulled away from him and started to pace. He folded his arms over his chest and waited. She ran a hand through her hair. "It's just that now I've been reminded all over again about Matt—and I guess a part of me is wondering what exactly you would have done if there _was _a conflict of interest—and since TK sent that tweet, I _will _have to talk to Matt."

"Regarding the conflict of interest—if it became clear that you and Donnally could no longer work together, one or both of you would be transferred elsewhere or your services terminated. Honestly, Donnally would have been easier to replace. Dangle an appropriate carrot in front of him, and he would have jumped at the chance."

Santino frowned at him. "You think so?"

"I know he is currently being courted by San Francisco. He's very likely to take the position—he has already mentioned the offer to Coach Parnell," Nico answered, and Santino's expression became pained. She was hurt, and Nico regretted telling her.

"He never said anything to me about that."

"It could be that he never actually intended to leave," Nico suggested, going over to her. She turned to him and leaned against him.

"I don't know why I feel so betrayed. I just—we should still be friends even if we're not together. We've always had that going, right? So, why didn't he tell me? And why does it matter so much?"

"Perhaps because there is unfinished business there."

She turned to face him. "Nico, I know that it—this must seem like—it's not like that."

He thought her insistence more like proof that it was, that she was protesting too much. He gently touched her face. "Feelings and attraction don't just go away overnight, remember? If they did, you and I would not be here now."

She kissed him again, but even as it began, he could feel a shift in the tone. This was not simply about their mutual attraction. The way she held onto him, the way she tugged at his clothes, the whole thing felt off, and he knew this was more about proving her earlier words about Donnally, which were a lie in the first place. He took her hands down and stepped back.

"I'm not going to sleep with you so that you can prove that you want to be with me and not him. That is not how this should start. Neither of us is ready to move forward at this point," he went on as he saw the look on her face. "I don't... do relationships, as you might have already guessed. It is simply easier to be on my own. I would be lying if I said I felt certain that continuing this was a good idea. I can see more ways of it going wrong than it going right. The simplest solution is not to start at all."

"Isn't that what we tried when we tried denying?" she asked, and he was forced to agree. It was already started. It was also public knowledge. They had even spent the evening getting her children to feel as comfortable with the idea as they could. It was already almost too late to turn back or stop. "Then where does that leave us?"

"I am willing to stay if we—" Nico's phone interrupted him, and he reached into his pocket. He took it out and read the message. "I have to go meet with the team's lawyers."

"What for? TK?"

"They didn't say."

"But you're just going to drop everything and go?" she demanded, and he looked at her. She was going to have accept that part of his job, too, or this would end faster than one of TK's relationships. "Take me with you."

"It isn't always about TK, you know."

"I don't care."

"It might be about Donnally wanting to break his contract."

"Fine. Even more reason that I should go," she countered. Nico frowned at her. "I can talk to him about the fact that he might be leaving and about TK's tweet. And us. I mean—you and me. Not me and him."

"It is about you and him."

"But I really, really want to move past that. Nico, I want you. I want to know more about you, I love the way you intimidate my kids, I want to find out if kissing you is as good as it gets or if sex is going to be even better, and I like the way you challenge me," she smiled when he gave her an incredulous look. "I _do. _With us, there's always a bit of give and take—whether it's talking about your past or the latest crisis or this thing between us. Other than not knowing much about you, you are more my equal than any man I've ever been involved with. Ray told me that he 'allowed' me to have my degree and my practice. Matt was a lot of fun, but the way he got back with Laura suggests that I was never really what he wanted or needed. He and I laugh and joke, and he knows the same pop references that I do, but you know the same psychology as I do. You're a fixer, just like I am, and that connects us in a way that other people don't understand."

"Two control freaks in a never-ending battle for control? That is no better than an inequality."

"Maybe not. But I can no more control you than you can control me, and that is probably the best relationship a control freak can have."

Her smile there was doing its best to distract him. "Lawyers."

"Still coming with you."


	19. A Contract

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,610  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: The funny thing about Dani and Nico is that they never quite take a conversation where it's supposed to go. That's how the end of this chapter happened. :P

* * *

><p><strong>A Contract<strong>

"Yo, Doctor D! Nico, what is up?"

"Would you like to explain the lawyers or discuss that tweet you made earlier?" Nico asked, and TK's mouth hung open for a moment. He looked from Nico to Dani.

"This the part where you take TK out and bury him in pieces in some field? Come on, Nico, I didn't—it was just a tweet. Not the end of the world. I didn't kill anyone. Didn't hurt any women. No cellphones into anyone's head. No parties with underage children. I swear. I've done nothing worth killing me. I'm trying to do right, you know. I really am. I been in therapy and I've been talking to Cherise, and I've got Devin to think about now..."

"You know, TK, I have put up with you using disparaging remarks about me and calling me names repeatedly in your texts and tweets, every time that you did not get your way, and that is one thing. Making judgments and comments about my personal life—especially when it involves another person that you owe a great deal and should show more respect—is unacceptable," Nico told him, and TK stared at him. He looked over at Dani.

"Doctor D? You... mad, too? I mean, all I said was—"

"You said that I was in a good mood because of the sex we supposedly had the night before. I'm sure you thought that was a joke, but my children read that tweet," she began, and TK winced. She nodded. "Yes, they saw that. You do realize that not only were your assumptions about my relationship with Nico wrong because they were, you gave them to _everyone _who read that tweet. My children didn't even know that I was ready to date, and you told them I was having sex."

"Uh..." TK began again, but his look to Nico got him no help at all. He held up his hands. "Okay, okay, kill me later. Like, twenty years later when the kid's in school and doing his thing, maybe being a big ball player his own self."

"I am willing to let Dr. Santino determine what the consequences of your actions should be as they have had greater affect on her life than they have on mine—most people consider me more of a robot and incapable of relationships and any comment about me is bound to blow over and be forgotten relatively quickly. What is said about her—because of her children and her divorce that is still not finalized—will not be forgotten quickly."

The divorce. Dani had almost forgotten about that. She sighed. She didn't want to think about what this tweet was going to do to her divorce proceedings. She turned to TK. "TK—"

"I'm really sorry, Doctor D. I didn't even think about it. I was just like, 'Damn, things must be clicking good there because they're both happy' and I said something on twitter, and it's—Please, don't be too mad. I'll make it up to the chicklets."

"The chicklets?"

"Your children," Nico clarified, and Dani looked at him before shaking her head. "Excuse me. I'm going to talk to the lawyers."

"No, wait, Nico!" TK called, moving in front of him. "Look, I know I screwed up. I screwed up big. But you can't go in there and tell them that and you can't punish Devin or deny Cherise what we worked out because of one tweet, okay? Please."

Nico let out a breath. "Terrence, I already told you that whatever the 'punishment' you have will be set by her. I just need to speak to the lawyers."

TK looked over at Dani. "You know, I'm almost more afraid of her."

"Perhaps you should be," Nico agreed, moving around TK and into the conference room where the lawyers were waiting. TK turned back to Dani and gave her a big smile. She folded her arms over her chest.

On the one hand, she was glad that Nico had left this decision in her hands. He was right—this affected her far more than it did him because he didn't seem to have any attachments anywhere. Sure, now they knew that Mrs. Pittman was his sister, but he didn't seem all that close to her, despite the family loyalty that kept him working here. Dani, on the other hand, had her mother. Her children. Her ex-husband. Matt.

He wasn't here, so that conversation would have to wait for tomorrow. Right now, she needed to deal with TK. "You do realize that what you did was inappropriate, right?"

"Yes. I really am sorry, Doctor D. You know me. I wasn't thinking."

She nodded. That much was clear. "Here is my thought, Terrence. From now on, whenever you get on twitter or facebook or take out your phone to send a text, I want you to take ten seconds—count them out if you need to—and think about what you are about to say. A lot of the time, this can keep you from saying things that you shouldn't or will regret later. Plenty of misunderstandings happen because a person wasn't thinking when they spoke, but even more so now that we have all of the instant distribution media—we all need to take the time to think about anything we're about to post there."

"Right."

"That is not all," Dani began, and TK winced. "Nico and I spent the evening setting things straight with my kids, and I know you said you're sorry about that, but I think you'll have to explain things to them as well."

"Doctor D—"

"You are getting off lightly," Dani told him. "You do realize that my scum of an ex-husband can now turn around and try to say that he wasn't the only one cheating because my own patient says I'm sleeping with Nico. My ex-husband already got drunk and through one—just _one—_conversation, he convinced his idiot friend to follow Nico. This same friend attacked Nico. Yes, he's an idiot, but he did manage to stab him."

"Uh..."

"Nico is fine, or so he likes to insist, but the thing is, you can't predict what your actions will lead to. You did one tweet without thinking, but my situation is complicated. Thankfully, my kids are now more or less okay with the idea of me dating Nico. My divorce and employment with the Hawks—those are different."

"Nico likes you, and he said his sister's Mrs. Pittman, right? So you're safe."

"Am I? TK, there are reasons for these boundaries and lines, and they've already been blurred in your case. If I can't be professional, it won't matter how much Nico likes me or who his sister is. I will be unable to do my job and I will have to quit or be fired."

"Not you. You're good at this. No one else would have done this for me, and you know it. We need you. We all do. You have to stay."

"And you have to think about what you tweet."

"Okay. Okay. I get it. Can we go see what Nico has worked out with the lawyers? I'm not so sure that he isn't going to tell them I'm stupid and not to listen to what I was trying to do. I mean, I don't know that much about what I'm doing, but... I thought it was a good plan."

Dani nodded. She wasn't so sure that TK was capable of good plans, but she was curious about what Nico was doing with the lawyers.

* * *

><p>"There. That's the realistic assessment of the time needed to finish the certificate, books, and tuition, factored in with living expenses—vehicle insurance, fuel costs, and basic maintenance in addition to rent, utilities, and sustenance," Nico said, correcting the figure the lawyer had given him. "Never trust the inflated estimates for college costs on those sites. Also, never overlook basic necessities. This is the bare minimum that she would need to make this work, and that does not factor in child care if she chose to take classes or work when her son was not in school or if she should have to have to leave class or work to care for him while he's ill. It also does not include medical insurance."<p>

"That's going to be covered by having her son see the team doc, right?"

"It's a cost that the team can probably absorb, yes," Nico agreed, looking up as Santino and TK entered the room. "You'll need to see this, Terrence. The original figures the lawyers gave you are off. They did not factor in enough conditions for the living expenses or schooling."

"Damn, how much more is it going to cost?" TK asked, crossing over to him. He looked over the figures. "Okay, Nico, how'd you make it _less _if they forgot so much?"

"Because colleges always inflate the cost of living expenses," Nico answered dismissively. "You can see the breakdown of everything I changed here, and the more realistic expectation is there. My suggestion to you, if you wish to put this in a contract is that you put this money in a trust. Only the amount here would be available to her for the month, but the money in the account would garner interest and help to defer any additional expenses—if the car broke down, for instance. The dispersal of the additional funds would be subject to approval."

"Okay, that sounds... reasonable."

"Also, if this is what you choose to do, then you need to include a clause in the legal contract to say that if she fails to complete her schooling that she forfeits any claim to the rest of the money and any support from you."

TK shook his head. "Nico, that's cold."

"No, it's practical," Nico disagreed. He saw the look that Santino was giving him and attempted to explain. "Terrence, this woman is not your wife. The boy is not your son. I understand you wanting to help them and be a part of the boy's life, but you are helping no one if all you give them is a financial free ride, do you understand?"

"You're such a cheap skate, Nico. Do you even spend your own money?" TK asked. He turned to Santino. "You better make sure he picks up the checks and not with Pittman's credit card."

Nico shook his head. "I may have few expenses on which I spend my income, but I do spend it. I have a centrally located apartment and a vehicle, though I believe most of my expenses are on what you would call my... toys."

"Toys?"

"He means his electronic devices, TK. The phone, the tablet, the laptop, and I'm sure there are others," Santino said, smiling a little. "But I'm surprised that you didn't mention the tailoring."

Nico looked at her. He didn't want to discuss that. She raised an eyebrow. He relented. "Once a year, at the beginning of the fashion season, my sister takes a trip to Europe. It is a trip I am always expected to take with her, and I find my entire wardrobe replaced when hers is."

"It looks good on you," she said, shrugging a little. The lawyers exchanged a look. He chose to ignore it. "Except the gray suit. I just don't think it fits."

"Neither do bright colors, or so I'm told."

"I think I'd agree with that," she said with a smile. TK had a big grin on his face, and Nico looked at the lawyers, one of whom had started to snicker.

"Is the contract ready?" he asked, and the three of them stood up straighter. That was better. He had his confirmation that they'd seen TK's tweet, though. "TK should sign it and have the trust set up as soon as possible. Remember to include that clause in the contract."

"Yes, Mr. Careles."

They had no sooner finished talking than his phone beeped at him again. He looked at it, shaking his head as he looked at the time. That would take him the better part of the night to deal with. "I have to go. TK's driver can see you home, Dr. Santino."

"Wait, what? What now? What do you need to handle this late at night? TK's here. He's not in any trouble."

"No, but someone else is," Nico told her. He started for the door, not surprised to find her following him. She always did these days. It didn't even have to do with their personal relationship. It was about whatever crisis situation happened to be going on at the time.

"Who's in trouble?"

"Dr. Santino—"

"Dani," she insisted, getting in front of him. "Or even Danielle if you feel that you have to be ridiculously formal, but we _are _dating even though we haven't technically been on any dates yet. Even if we're not, we're friends. Call me Dani or Danielle, but stop with the Dr. Santino crap. Sure, if we're meeting someone new, maybe, but I think after the kisses we've shared we're past formal names. I've never used yours, after all."

He shook his head. "This is not going to work."

"What?"

"You and me and work. The conversation about my wardrobe is proof enough of that. I operate on the basis of—"

"Fear, yeah, I know," she agreed. "And everyone thinks you're somehow inhuman. A robot. A vampire. Everywhere and nowhere at once. So you can't have a relationship because it humanizes you. It lets them see the vulnerable side you try to keep so hidden from everyone because you don't dare appear weak in front of anyone. They can't laugh at you, that's what you think, right? Nico, if they think you're a robot then they're already making jokes. Don't sacrifice happiness for the image you feel you have to create."

"Happiness?"

"Yes, damn it, because if you haven't noticed, you smile a hell of a lot more with me than you ever did before. I have seen more smiles in the last two days than I have in the entire time I've worked with you. You want to find excuses to stop _now? _Why the hell for?"

He looked at her, trying to find the right words. She'd pick them apart whatever they were. She took hold of his arm. "Nico, I don't believe that you really want to do this any more than I want to let you. You're allowed to have a life, and if you think that I'd stop bothering you about having one even if we break up right now, you're fooling yourself."

"Danielle," he began, abiding by the rules on her name that she'd just made a big deal about. "I have to go."

She shook her head. "You can't just get out of a conversation you don't like because of some situation. I know that you think you have to handle the players' problems for the sake of the team, but they are adults and can afford to wait a few minutes. You don't have to rush off every time that phone beeps at you."

"This is different," he said quietly. "This is not about some player. This is Juliette. My niece."


	20. A Party Girl

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,750  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Well... I recall saying something somewhere about not dealing with stuff from further episodes, and I totally broke that when the call was from Juliette, and it wasn't supposed to get this complicated, but hopefully the story will get back on track to where it's supposed to be wrapping up very soon. :P

* * *

><p><strong>A Party Girl<strong>

"I'm not taking you with me."

"Why do you always have to argue with me?" Dani demanded, sick of having to rush after him whenever Nico got it in his head that he had to handle some new situation on his own. She was tired of him trying to push her away—and she was angry, too. They'd been having a good time right until that conversation in front of the lawyers made him shift his gears and try to end things. She was not going to let him get away with that crap. He wanted her; she wanted him. He didn't have to put on some heartless act for everyone. Hell, if they'd seen what he'd done to Ray at the reunion, they'd know that his feelings for her actually made him more dangerous.

Dani decided that Jeanette's pictures were actually useful after all. She'd let her friend pull a TK and tweet them if it would help convince Nico that no one was going to fear him any less because he was involved with her. TK had been pretty scared when they showed a united front. She figured he wouldn't be the only one.

"I am not taking you because you will get fired if you help her. Let TK's driver take you home."

"Wait, what?" Dani asked, sick of saying those words, too. She grabbed hold of Nico's arm and managed to get in front of him. "What do you mean I'll get fired? What about you?"

He pulled her fingers off his arm. "The same goes for me. Just leave this one alone, Danielle."

"No, because this feels all wrong and because I won't let you use it to push me away," Dani insisted stubbornly, going out the doors after him. She kept pace with him as he went to his car. "Why would helping your niece get you fired?"

He sighed, stopping at the driver's door. "Juliette has... problems. Alcohol. Drugs. Men. She grew up with wealth and a lack of accountability for her actions. Marshall Pittman was never the most attentive of fathers and my sister... She was never meant to have children, plain and simple. Juliette's care was entrusted to a series of nannies who were only there for the paycheck. As long as Juliette was quiet, everyone was happy. They preferred her out of sight, out of mind, gave her free reign most of the time."

"So she started acting out for attention," Dani concluded. It was obvious and almost cliché. Nico nodded, opening his door. "And now her parents have cut her off to teach her a lesson, but you... haven't?"

He got in the car without answering her. She smacked on the car window. "Nico, damn it, you are not leaving me behind! If you really want to help your niece, then let me talk to her. It sounds like what she really needs is my kind of help, not yours. You can't fix things for her. You're only enabling her. And you're not going to win any argument with me this way. I'm not going to let this go."

She heard the door unlock and tried not to grin too smugly as she opened the door. He looked over at her. "Therapy hasn't helped Juliette. She's been seeing a therapist since she was eight."

"Let me guess. Another person only interested in a paycheck and part of the reason that you think so little of what I do."

"I didn't say that I did."

"You have implied it enough to make it quite clear. Juliette's therapist is the reason that you didn't think I'd go to TK, right? The reason that you come to my house in the middle of the night to drag me off to see patients in person. The reason why you tell me to back off from helping family friends who are in over their head."

"I knew his father, not him, and he put you and your family in danger. I was right to be concerned," Nico said, pulling out of the parking lot faster than he usually did. She knew that he had to speed—a lot—to get to places as fast as he did, but he never did that with her in the car, not even when he was taking her to TK at the hospital.

"Nico, therapists are human beings just like everyone else. Some of them care. Some of them are in it for the wrong reasons. The same happens with people in your position. Remember when I told you that only magicians and killers made people disappear? I made assumptions about you as well, but I know now that it was wrong. I've seen a lot more to you, and I can tell that you care about your niece deeply. She's the one that you were talking about when you told TK that you can feel like a father without blood connection."

"I have one to Juliette. She _is _my niece."

Dani glanced a bit nervously at the speedometer as they got on the highway. "Yeah, but she's not your daughter."

Nico glared at her. Dani sighed. "I know that you don't want to hear it, but it's true. And I'm not saying that to hurt you. I'm pointing out a fact. You care deeply about her, and that's not going to change. I am just trying to understand."

"I never asked you to understand. I made it clear that I didn't want you to come."

"And you could have left me behind, but you didn't. You _need _me, Nico. Juliette _needs _me. And I want to help. I want to help her, and I want to help you."

"You've never even met her."

"I don't have to. I have you. You're a very good judge of character."

He shook his head at that one and took the off ramp, slowing the car down to a stop just at the end of it. She didn't know why Pittman hadn't hired him as a race car driver, too, now that she'd seen how he really drove. Nico took them down a few streets that Dani hadn't known existed, finally stopping the car outside what looked like a deserted warehouse.

"Is this where I find out you made up the niece and brought me here to kill me because I ruined the image of you as a robot vampire?"

Nico gave her a look at the question and got out of the car. Dani forced the door open and stumbled out after him. She was not going to chase him forever. He needed to learn to wait for her. She'd start putting that into practice, but not tonight.

She watched as Nico passed the man at the door two hundred dollar bills and grabbed hold of him before he could leave her outside with the intimidating security at the door. She wrapped her fingers around his and closed her other hand around his as he navigated his way through the crowded dance floor. This was the type of place that she hoped her children never _ever _went to. The club she'd found TK in had been bad enough, but this place was full of kids who didn't look old enough to be out at night wearing too much makeup and strung out on god knows what. They weren't really dancing so much as weaving on their feet, about to pass out from whatever they were on.

"Nico!"

Dani didn't have time to figure out where the voice had come from before the girl had jumped right on him. Dani couldn't even tell what she was wearing because all she could see was skin and maybe a strip of dark fabric around her waist. Nico grunted and set his niece down. "Juliette, what are you doing here?"

"I... don't know. I was out with friends and we were going uptown, but it... I don't remember why we didn't go. They ditched me. I don't care. No big deal, right?"

"What are you on?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me, Juliette. I'm not in the mood," Nico said, turning to leave. Dani frowned. She hadn't expected that from Nico, not after the way he'd acted earlier. She'd expected him to be more patient and less like he was with her, but maybe she'd pushed him too far on the way over.

"Nico, wait," Juliette called, rushing up to him. She caught hold of his arm just like Dani had done earlier. "I don't know what I took. I don't remember. Some guy gave it to me, and I think I... Please, don't leave me here."

Nico stopped, slipping his coat off and putting it on her. "Let's go."

Juliette seemed confused by his actions, and Dani touched her back gently. The girl looked up at her. "Who are you?"

Good question. Was she a therapist? A friend? Nico's girlfriend? That last one was a question that Dani didn't know if she wanted answered. He'd definitely tried to break it off earlier. "I'm Dani. I came here with your uncle."

"Oh, so he actually told you I was his niece? That's a first," Juliette said, but Nico had already disappeared past the crowd. She sighed. "Never mind. I—I was making that up. He—I'm the one that won't call him 'Uncle.'"

She bit her lip, and the tears started to smear her makeup again. Dani put her arm around her and led her to the door where Nico was waiting. Juliette tried to touch him again, and he took out his keys, opening the door for her without a word.

"We're taking her to my home," Dani told him, and he nodded, still not saying a word.

* * *

><p>"Here," Santino said, coming back into the room with a set of her loose pajamas and setting them in front of Juliette. Nico watched his niece pick up the clothes and turned away when she started to change without registering that there were other people in the room. "We can give you a minute, Juliette—"<p>

"I'm done," Juliette insisted, and Nico waited before he looked back. She had a habit of claiming that before she really was just to see the look on his face. "Tell him I really am this time. Uh... who are you again?"

"I'm Dr. Dani Santino."

"Doctor? Oh, I am out of here," Juliette said, and Nico folded his arms over his chest as Santino moved to block her from leaving. His niece glared back at him. "I told you I was done with doctors. I don't want to be drugged up with their crap. I'm not going to play the dutiful daughter. I don't care who you hired to shrink me this time. I'm not doing it."

"I didn't hire her. Your parents didn't hire her. She offered to come with me."

Juliette frowned, looking Santino over, unable to understand why the good doctor would have made the offer. People didn't do anything without a reason, not in her world. Her friends hung out with her for her money. Men wanted her body. Her parents wanted an image. Nico was the closest thing to impartial, but she considered him little more than her parents' stooge. "Why? What's in it for you? A good word with my dad? Reputation if you can 'fix' the troubled daughter of a media mogul?"

"Actually, as I understand it, helping you could end my employment with the Hawks and your father has no idea where you are right now or that I'm talking to you. Your uncle and I work together. We're... friends. It's clear to me that he cares about you a lot, and I offered to help if I could," Santino told her, and Juliette looked back at Nico.

"Wait... Are you two... No way. He hasn't dated since... Ever."

"I should go," Nico decided. He was only a distraction at this point, and they did not need him keeping them from making progress. Santino blocked his path as he reached the door. "You have never wanted me in a therapy session before. Why would you begin now?"

"Because Juliette hasn't agreed to therapy. Right now, we're just talking and because I'm sick of you trying to avoid the subject..." She caught his suit jacket and pulled him close, wrapping her other arm around his neck as she kissed him. He knew what this was, and he knew that he should not react to it at all, but he responded anyway, the same way he always did with her. The attraction, the connection, it didn't want to be denied.

He managed to pull back and shook his head. "This is inappropriate."

"You could use some inappropriate, Nico."

"Oh, hell, yeah," Juliette agreed, and Nico frowned at her. She shrugged. "Your girlfriend is right. You need to loosen up. You're such a control freak. I tell you what... if you actually make an attempt at having a life, I'll make an attempt at sticking with therapy for a change."

"Last time you said that, you set fire to the the doctor's files."

"He said I was a slut. No, a whore. That was the word he used. A spoiled little whore."

Nico could feel a headache starting. He leaned against the wall, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You said he thought that, and he wrote it down. Then you got mad and burned his files."

Juliette grinned. She turned to Santino. "I bet you're glad you offered to help now, right?"

Santino forced a smile. "It sounds to me like you felt that your therapist was judging you. Therapy is not about judging. It's about understanding. What I hear from you is a lot of hostility. Anger. And I bet you think you know where that's all coming from. What I don't think is that you are ready to do yet is let go of the anger. Listen to the reason you gave for going to therapy. You want to bait your uncle, challenge him? Fine. But don't make therapy about that. You do this for you or you don't do it at all. I can't help you unless you want my help. It seems clear that you don't."

Nico looked down with a frown, finding his hand linked with Santino's again. He was surprised. She seemed to be handling Juliette fine on her own, no need of support from him. This was what she did, and he could see his niece giving her words a consideration that she didn't give anyone else's.

"I don't—I don't feel good," Juliette said, swaying, and Nico let go of Santino to catch his niece before she fell off the couch.

"She can stay in my guestroom," Santino said as Nico checked on Juliette's pulse and airway. He figured it was probably just the drug taking its full effect, but he didn't want to assume that and have her not wake up in the morning. "Nico, she's going to be fine."

"I doubt that. You were right in that she doesn't want help."

"Yes, she does. If she didn't, she wouldn't have called you," Santino insisted. He carried her up the stairs to the guestroom and set her on the bed. He turned down the sheets and covered Juliette with them. "This room has gotten a lot of use lately."

He didn't miss the pointed reference to the night they'd spent in here. "Danielle, this doesn't change things. I appreciate everything that you're doing for my niece, but for me... I can't—"

She kissed him again, briefly, and took his hand. "Come. My room is right there, and it's close enough for you to hear if anything goes wrong in there. My bed is big enough for two people to go an entire night without touching—believe me, that's how it was with me and Ray."

Nico shook his head. "My niece and your son under the same roof is a bad idea."

"We'll deal with that in the morning when everyone's awake. Right now, we all need some sleep."


	21. A Full House

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,549  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So, I still haven't rescued the plot from its hijacking. I'm almost not sure I will be able to at this point. *sigh*

But I disclosed more of Nico's backstory as I see it (and hey, my AU, so it's all true here), if that helps?

* * *

><p><strong>A Full House<strong>

"What, have you... _moved in _or something?"

Nico turned around to face the accusation that Santino's daughter had thrown at him first thing in the morning. She should still be asleep, given the hour, and it was unlikely that she'd woken because of any noise that he'd made. Even Santino's coffee pot was not that loud. He had seen no indications previously that Lindsay was an early riser. She must have a school function today. He folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. "No, I have not moved in."

"Really? Then why are you here?"

"That is... complicated," Nico began. He poured himself a cup of coffee and watched her for a moment. She shook her head and went to the fridge, trying to pretend that she wasn't intimidated by his presence.

"You know, it's kind of creepy," she went on, her head disappearing inside the fridge. "We only found out that you two were dating last night. You moving in is... not okay."

Nico had a brief moment to debate whether or not he should clarify his position—explaining that he actually thought it best if his relationship with the girl's mother ended now would not pacify her. She was just as likely to fly off the handle and say that he wasn't allowed to hurt Danielle, and while he truly did not want to, he did not know that they could continue as they had been. She was pushing for too much and his personal life was not supposed to intersect with his job, but as long as she was a part of the former, the latter would not be free from entanglement. He also believed that once she had a better idea of who he was, the attraction to him would... cease. Some things could not be overcome.

"Please, like he would ever do that. Nico is not willing to admit he cares enough to ever move in with a woman again," Juliette scoffed, entering the room. Lindsay's head jerked out of the fridge. She slammed it shut behind her and almost dropped the milk.

"Who are you?" Lindsay demanded, her eyes darting to Nico before going back to Juliette. That happened a lot, the search for resemblance. Since Juliette was in the habit of bleaching and dying her hair, other than her eyes, they had little in common. She favored her father more than her mother. Always had. "Are you... his daughter?"

"Oh, wouldn't that suck?" Juliette asked. She shook her head, touching a hand to the tangled mess of her hair. Now aware that it was sticking up in all directions, she started to comb it with her fingers. "No, Mr. Control Freak over there is not my father."

"Mr. Control Freak has ears, Juliette," Nico warned, setting down his coffee. She smirked at him, and he moved away from the counter. She continued to smile at him, believing that he would not do anything to harm or even punish her. He had been overly lenient in the past, and he knew that was going to have to change.

"Hey, Linds, have you seen my—wow. Hi," Ray Jay said, checking Juliette out. Nico's eyes narrowed at the boy. He'd expected as much from him, but that did not make it any easier to accept. Juliette finished combing through her hair and gave him a teasing smile. "Who are you?"

"Juliette."

"Just Juliette?" Lindsay asked, folding her arms over her chest and looking a lot like her mother. She waited a moment before going over to smack her brother on the back of the head. He tried to pull his mouth shut, but he was still staring. "There's a last name, right?"

"Who needs one, right?" Juliette asked, still grinning. It was a hollow joke. She had been told that she was no longer a Pittman. Technically, she didn't have a last name. Nico stepped behind her and moved her toward the table.

"Sit. Then you're going to eat something. I doubt you even know when the last time you did that was," he said. She glared up at him, but he ignored it as he went to find her something her stomach would likely tolerate. He passed behind the Santino boy. "Watch your eyes. That is my niece."

The kid's eyes got wide, and his sister laughed. "This is going to be good."

Nico glanced at her, and she ducked her head. Juliette laughed. "Oh, Uncle Nico, don't they know that you're just a big teddy bear?"

Lindsay shook her head. "Try axe murderer."

"Well, he _did _break my boyfriend's fingers once," Juliette agreed, thoroughly enjoying this. She had the chair tipped back and was grinning like that cat who'd eaten the canary.

"Considering where he had his hand, he was lucky," Nico reminded her coldly. She bit her lip, the smile dropping as she remembered _why _Nico had broken the boy's hand. He filled her a glass with water and put a piece of bread in the toaster. He took her the water. "Drink this. And let me see your hands."

She sighed as she lifted them up. They shook badly. "You are such a—"

"Control freak, I know. What were you on last? Other than the one you didn't pay any attention to?" he asked, and she shrugged. He looked at her. "You do realize that you've never actually lasted a day trying to come off cold turkey."

"Yeah, so later I'll beg you for drugs, and you won't let me have any, but you might eventually give in and get me some of the stuff they use to wean you off them," she agreed. Her eyes caught the look Lindsay was giving her. "What? You're going to judge me? Aren't you a part of whatever rehab program is being run here?"

"Uh, no, this is our house," Ray Jay began. "I'm not really sure what your uncle is doing here, but he is kind of dating our mom and—"

"I swear, Ray Jay, he's moving in," Lindsay told him. "Even though _she _insists that it's not possible because the guy doesn't care about women enough to move in."

"I would advise you not listen to my niece. She is certainly no expert on my dating habits," Nico advised them, looking pointedly at each of them. "You seem to have forgotten your cereal on the counter. If you intended to be at your school early, you should know that it is now past seven."

"Oh, crap," Lindsay said, grabbing her cereal and eating it quickly. She nudged her brother. "Hey, come on, you're supposed to take me there early. You already agreed."

"Lost the bet, did you?" Nico asked, and the boy swallowed hard. Juliette started laughing again. He looked over at her. She should be focused on that water. She needed it, had to be dehydrated.

"They're so cute! No wonder you like to come here."

"Not everyone is as easily amused as you are," he said, going to get the bread from the toaster. He put it on a plate and set it in front of her. "Eat."

She gave him another dirty look, but she started eating anyway, drinking it down with the water. He watched her hands for a moment before he went back to the counter. He looked it over, trying to assess the most likely location where Santino would keep straws.

"I never knew my kitchen was so fascinating, Nico," Santino teased, covering a yawn as she walked up to him. She stood next to him, faking a survey of the cupboards before leaning against him. He knew he should move away from her. They needed to talk, though with Juliette and her children in the room, that was impossible. "What were you looking for that you—the great Nico—doesn't magically know how to find?"

"Do you have straws?"

"Straws?"

"For the junkie who might drop her water glass," Juliette muttered, annoyed. Santino looked over at her, and Juliette's eyes dropped down at the table. She wasn't always an entitled, spoiled brat. Nico missed the days when she was younger, though. That child had been inquisitive, always trying to follow him around and wanting to know what he was doing, and she laughed at simple things without that bitter edge to everything. "Can I have some more toast? Uh... Please?"

Santino opened the drawer, taking out a box of straws. She set them on the counter and went to the toaster, putting in another piece of bread. Nico waited for it to finish and then took it and the straw over to Juliette.

She gave him a slight smile. "I'm sorry."

He touched her hair, smoothing it down some more before giving her a light kiss on the forehead. "I know."

* * *

><p>"Oh, my god, he's human!" Lindsay cried, and Dani turned from smiling at the tender moment between Nico and his niece to her daughter. Lindsay gulped, looking down at the bowl of cereal in her hands like it might offer her a place to hide. "Uh... sorry?"<p>

"Shh," Dani said. Nico hadn't looked, up, though he'd probably heard. Dani drew her daughter close for a hug and mock-whispered in her ear. "If people know that, he might have to kill them."

Ray Jay looked at her with a frown, though he seemed to have a smile fighting to come out. Lindsay pulled herself out of the hug, shaking her head. Dani smiled over at Nico. He wasn't half as amused as she was, but then again, he was way too protective of that image of his. He didn't have to be scary _all _the time. Personally, Dani liked it a lot when he _wasn't _scary.

"Like I said before, Nico, way too easy. But they're cute," Juliette said, toying with the straw he'd given her. "I always figured I was the reason why you never had kids. Not because I'm a stand-in or anything, but because I'm such a mess that you'd never want one of your own. Now you can see that not all of us kids are bad."

"You were never the reason I didn't have children. _I _was," Nico corrected, touching her shoulder. Dani had one of those moments—the ones that maternal women get when they saw a man and a child in a touching almost-Hallmark card moment—and her stomach flip-flopped in a way that hadn't happened to her since she was Lindsay's age. Dani was in trouble. They had to talk. Soon. "Eat your toast. We need to get you home."

"You gonna leave me again?"

Nico gave Juliette a long, hard look. "That depends on you. What are you planning on doing? More drugs? More parties? More sex with men you don't even know?"

"Nico," Dani began, forced almost violently out of her adoring girlfriend moment. He looked back at her. She knew he could be direct, but there were some things that did _not _need to be said in front of an audience. "This can—"

"No, he's right. I'm a screw up. I really am. Nico's the only one who gives a damn about me anymore, and I know he's sick of me throwing this crap in his face. There are a lot worse things that he knows about that he could have asked, and he didn't," Juliette said, putting her hand on Nico's arm, frowning. "I don't know if it's worth bothering. You know I'm going to slip up again."

"It's a process, not an instant fix."

"You say that because of Grandpa."

"He died in a puddle of his own vomit. Is that how you want to end up?" Nico asked. Dani started to object again, but Nico went on first. "I've never believed that. You don't have to be him and you don't have to be your mother. You _do _have to make a choice, though. You know you have my help—if you want it. But you know where I stand. I can't be the one who fixes every bad choice for you. Not anymore. Dr. Santino can help you, too, if you'll let her. Stay away from her children, though."

"Oh, but they're fun," Juliette laughed slightly, but she knew that the conversation was too important to make jokes. She sobered up, nodding. "I'm making the choice, Uncle Nico. I want to do this."

Nico gave her another kiss on the forehead, and then his phone went off. Juliette looked up at him, and he sighed. "Just a second."

Dani turned to Lindsay and Ray Jay. They had already heard way too much. At least she had an excuse to get them out of here. "I don't see either of you ready for school."

"Crap! I'm going to be late!" Lindsay yelled, rushing out of the room. Dani heard the pounding on the stairs as she ran up them. Ray Jay grabbed a fruit from the counter, made a face at it, and then followed his sister, though not nearly as fast or loud.

"Dead?" Nico asked, frowning, and Dani's attention immediately went back to him. She saw Juliette watching him, a worried expression on her face. "No, I understand. No, I will see to the arrangements. No, I want Dr. Santino to handle that. No, Ms. Radcliffe, one thing you are not is capable of handling this situation properly. And we are going to have a discussion about you taking my messages."

He hung up, and Dani was glad that she was not Laura Radcliffe right now. "What am I going to handle?"

"Speaking to Cherise—and probably TK—about her mother."

"She's... dead?" Dani asked, surprised and a bit horrified. It wasn't that Cherise had a great support system back home, but to lose her mother, now, it was like the woman couldn't get a break, only TK _had _given her a lot. "I thought she was in rehab. How did it happen?"

"For some addicts, withdrawal can be so bad that they would rather... die than face it," Nico explained quietly, glancing at Juliette. She was rubbing her arms, her need for a fix of whatever she usually took was getting worse.

"What would you know about it?" Juliette asked, pulling her legs up onto the chair and wrapping her arms around her legs as she continued to shudder. "You're not an addict. That's what you always say."

"Not an addict," he agreed. His eyes went to Dani, and she knew that look. It was the one that said he was about to tell her something that he didn't want to tell her. He'd already let a lot slip this morning—mostly because of Juliette—but she had a feeling this was a lot bigger than that. "If I hide behind semantics."

"What?"

"Not an addict. An alcoholic."


	22. A Figurative Train Wreck

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 5,017  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Longest chapter so far. That's because I was trying to get back from the highjacking and... well... I got this train wreck instead.

*sigh*

Lots of weighty subjects, touchy people, and disaster ahead...

* * *

><p><strong>A Figurative Train Wreck<strong>

"An alcoholic?" Danielle and Juliette asked at the same time, but Juliette was the one that got his attention then. He didn't even know how to look at the therapist then. Couldn't. He didn't want to know what she thought of him. His niece—it was past time that she knew.

Nico nodded uncomfortably. He knelt next to Juliette's chair, touching her hand. "It's not something I'm proud of, especially not after watching my father—I used to swear that I would never do what he did, but twenty years ago, I _was _him. I would blame it on having a hard time readjusting to my life after my military service ended, but that would be a flimsy excuse. Everyone copes in different ways with what they did and what their life was like afterward. I may have let that be the reason I started drinking each day, but it was not enough to justify the loss of control, the way I _kept _drinking well after I felt the first indications that it was impairing me. I have no great life changing story for why I was able to make myself stop. I didn't get in any car accidents while I was drunk, didn't hurt anyone but myself. There simply came a day when I realized that I wasn't willing to do it anymore. That makes it sound simple when it wasn't. I spent another three years on and off the wagon. I know how I was back then, how my father was, and I thought if I pushed you to rehab or tried to get you back into therapy that you'd go further away. There's a man I served with that still won't talk to me because of what I did when he tried to tell me I was a drunk."

"Why not tell me about this before? Why did you leave it until now?"

"Juliette, honestly, if I'd said, I know exactly what you're doing because I'm an alcoholic, would you have listened to a word I said? Or would you have added that into Grandpa and your mother and think that you were always going to be an addict, genetically predisposed to it?"

She looked down at him. "You were... so perfect, though."

He shook his head. "No. Never. I let you see the best of me and only that. That's all anyone got to see. It wasn't fair to you, but you know how I am."

"Control freak."

He nodded. "Yes. Able to control everything but myself. It only takes one drink."

"I'm going to mess this up again."

He touched her face. "I don't think so. And even if you do have a set back, that's what it is. A set back. It's not the end of the world. It should make you more determined not to let it happen again, but it doesn't always work that way. You get a taste of what it's like; and you want to go back. It seems easier than fighting against it every day."

"How long have you been sober?"

"Fifteen years. But if your next question is if it gets any easier... No. It doesn't."

Juliette nodded, wiping at her eyes. "Is it easier if you do go cold turkey?"

"I won't lie. That's what it took for me, but alcohol is different. You might think you can wean yourself off with the three-two beers or something not so hard, but what you end up doing is drinking more just to get close to what you're used to—and believe me, I have a high tolerance. It takes a lot before anyone notices any change in my behavior or before I feel any real effect," he explained. "The stuff you've been on isn't the same. It's probably going to take a regimented drug therapy to end the chemical dependence you have. We can arrange that."

"I don't want to go back in that rehab place. Not again," Juliette said, rocking in the chair. "Not again. That was horrible."

"I know. We'll find something else; I promise," he told her, and then his phone beeped at him again. She shook her head, expecting him to blow her off again. He would check it and assign someone else to deal with whatever it was. Reading over the message, though, he found himself cursing. This was not something he could pass off to someone else. If this was to be believed, someone had just taken hostages in the city offices. "Damn it."

"Just go. You always have to go."

He shook his head. "I swear, if there was anyone else who could handle this, I'd send them. But this—it's not something I could have anyone else handle. This—this is not something that can be taken lightly, and it needs me because only I know all of the details that are going to be important."

"And these details are needed right now, this second kind of right now?"

He looked over at Santino. She had her arms folded over her chest, and he supposed her disbelief was only to be expected. He was not about to tell her what was going on. She would want to go with, and he didn't want anyone he cared about anywhere near it. "The situation is deteriorating fast. I can't promise I'll be back soon, but I am not—I will be there for you, Juliette. I swear."

"Pinky swear and I get to ride on your back like a monkey?"

"Yes, but it'll have to wait. The doctor will never forgive me if I rip my stitches again," Nico said with a smile at the old joke. She hadn't asked him for one of those since she was eight. He held out his hand, and she jumped up to hug him, completely missing the part about the stitches.

"Okay, go. I swear I'll be here when you get back. Or wherever your girlfriend puts me."

Nico frowned. Santino was not his girlfriend. The term didn't suit her, for one thing, and the situation between them was too complicated for that. He extracted himself from the hug and walked over to the doctor, who still looked suspicious. "Is it a problem if she stays with you?"

"No. Not at all. I want her here," Santino answered. She hesitated for a second and then reached down to take his hand. "I'm starting to accept that there are things that you're just not going to explain, like this emergency right now—and I am having a hard time wrapping my head around just what could make you leave right this second and why it _has _to be you—but—"

"You will hear all about it later," he told her, not entirely sure why he was making that particular promise. Maybe it would get him out of here faster. "But I do need to leave."

"I wasn't finished," she said, sighing. She put her other hand around his. "Okay, this is going to get rushed now, but the thing is—you probably think that the conversation you just had with your niece lowered my opinion of you and made me think that you were... I don't. I don't think that at all. What I saw then was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life, and that girl is _lucky_ to have you in her life, and that honesty was so... incredible, so... I guess what I'm saying is that if you thought you'd push me away with that, you didn't. Seeing the way you were with her, as much as you hate being vulnerable and sharing, it was something special. I shouldn't even have seen it, that's the kind of moment it was. Nothing you said then made me think less of you. Actually, it made me lo—want you more. Like, it's completely inappropriate how much I want you right now."

He wasn't sure if she'd really noticed her slip, but he had, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. He pulled his hand free. "I have to go."

He started to leave, lost a battle with himself—he'd wasted too much time already and they shouldn't do this but her statement merited some kind of reciprocation—and turned back to kiss her, as briefly as he could manage. "Later. We'll talk later."

"Uh huh," she agreed, sounding a little breathless.

* * *

><p>"Clothes," Dani said when she could think again, turning to Juliette, who looked up from her legs and frowned. "You need some. And if you tell me what you were on, we can get something that will help with the shaking, at least until we do get the right chemical therapy in place."<p>

Juliette nodded. "Okay. Uh... We can't go back to my place. Crap. Look, Dad might have cut me off, but that doesn't mean he doesn't spy on me. If Nico was with us, it would be different because no one goes against him—well, except you and me—and they always _forget _that he was there, but they won't forget you and you'll get in trouble. So... um... Crap. I don't know where my purse is, either. I don't have anything. Not that I have much. 'Here you go, Julie. Go get clean and sober with no money and no support and if you screw up well that's too bad because we don't want to hear about it.'"

She started to pace a bit, and Dani knew the withdrawal was getting worse. She looked the girl over. "Well, my clothes are probably a bit big on you yet, so if we can find something clean in Lindsay's room, we'll go with that. If not, then we'll put you in something else of mine and you can fill it out when you gain back the weight you should have."

"I can't get fat."

"Oh, honey, you are not fat. I don't think you could be fat," Dani told her, taking her by the hand and leading her upstairs. She vaguely remembered foot pounding coming back down the stairs, and she knew Lindsay wanted to be early today, so she and Ray Jay both should be at school by now. If not, then Lindsay was going to have suck it up and deal. Juliette was a guest, and she needed clothes. Lindsay could give up one outfit for the day. "Last time I was in here, I threatened to torch the place, so don't expect anything less than a disaster."

"Uh, junkie who can't even tell you who I had sex with last night. Nothing your daughter has in her room can phase me."

Dani winced as she looked over at Juliette. The girl didn't even seem to register what she'd said. Dani watched her wander through Lindsay's room, picking up clothes and looking at them, all the while ready to fall over any second. They really needed to get her something. "Can I ask you something, Juliette—it is Juliette and not Julie?"

"Julie is what Dad calls me when he wants to act like he cares. Nico calls me Juliette. He's the one that cares," the girl explained, and Dani tried not to wince again. This was going to be very hard. Very, very hard.

"Right, Juliette. When you have sex with these men, is it always for the drugs? Do you have any steady boyfriends, or is it like last night a lot?"

"I thought you said this wasn't about judging," Juliette said sharply.

"I am _not _judging. I just hear you say that and think that you have some real self-worth issues if you are willing to give that part of you away without love or support. Some therapists would start looking right at your childhood and your father, in particular, in how that shaped your sense of identity."

"Identity? Look, here's the thing about my childhood. I didn't get beaten. I didn't get yelled at. I had every toy I could possibly want. All I had to do was stay out of their sight like I didn't exist. I had nannies, but they were just there to make sure I stayed quiet. Uncle Nico's the only one who really paid attention to me, but you know his job. He was never around any more than they were."

"So, basically... you grew up with the impression that you shouldn't exist."

"I don't even know why Mom didn't just have an abortion. It's not like she's religious or anything. Nico would be closer to that than her, and you know him."

Dani folded her arms over her chest. "Is it going to be a problem, my involvement with your uncle?"

"What? Why? It doesn't matter to me who he screws. I'm just surprised he's even bothering."

Dani felt that one, and she forced herself to stay calm. This was not a moment where she explained that their relationship hadn't gotten to that step—no, it _was. _"For the record, your uncle and I have not had sex. But I do think that it's an—"

"What? You haven't? What, did you two just get together yesterday?"

"No. Your uncle and I both agreed that we were not ready to take it to a physically intimate state. There have been some pretty heated kisses, and those are nice, but I don't need those. Want them, yes. Want them like crazy. But what I really appreciate about Nico is not the way he kisses. It's the way he challenges my mind and makes me think and he can frustrate the _hell _out of me ninety-nine percent of the time, but when he's frustrating me and pushing me is when I feel the most alive. He pushes me and I push right back. I have seen things from Nico—like today when he spoke to you—that I don't think _anyone _would have seen and all because I'm unwilling to take no for an answer. We have enough between us that when the sex happens, I fully expect it to be the best sex of my life, but I am willing to wait because the more we interact, the more we know about each other, the deeper our connection gets and the better the sex will be because of it."

"You are like, the worst therapist ever," Juliette told her, and Dani frowned. The girl laughed. "Come on, you're not supposed to _share _that kind of thing with me. You're supposed to give me that same old song and dance about the body being my temple."

"Ugh. I don't know who made that analogy, but that's just a quick way to let a guy who offers to worship and adore you into your pants. I would know. I did that. Got stuck with him for seventeen years," Dani muttered, and Juliette smiled again before she started changing with that same disregard for anyone else in the room. Dani turned anyway, giving her privacy. On the surface, Juliette's problems seemed to go straight back to that childhood of being out of sight and out of mind. It gave her the sense that she was nothing, that she didn't matter. She tried to find a _way _to matter, and at first it might have been by being well-behaved, perfect. When that didn't work, then she quickly found that negative attention was at least _attention._ It was all very classic, familiar, and the story of many people in the world, and not a problem that happened only with wealthy families.

"How do I look?"

"Lindsay is so grounded. I am going to burn that shirt. Please pick another."

Dani saw Juliette's look—extremely pleased—and realized that the girl had chosen one of Lindsay's hooker shirts on purpose. She _wanted _Dani to react. She wanted to be noticed. The hooker shirt—that next-to-nothing look from last night—all of it was one giant cry for attention. Dani could give her some, but it was going to take a lot more than her. She caught herself thinking that Juliette should spend some time with Lindsay and then the mom part of her said absolutely not, nowhere near my daughter. Maybe... Jeanette. Jeanette could maybe help. What would help the most, though, was if Nico didn't let _any _crisis take him away from his niece. He was going to have the biggest part in restoring Juliette's self-worth because he was one of the ones that had unintentionally created the distorted image in the first place.

"That's better," Dani said when Juliette had changed into one of Lindsay's sweaters. "Let's go back downstairs, and you can tell me about what drugs you've been taking."

"You're worse than my uncle with that."

"Do you want something for the withdrawal or what?" Dani asked. Juliette looked at her. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Listen, I don't care what you've taken for any other reason. This is not about judging. I already told you that. You could have taken all of the drugs in the world, and it wouldn't matter. The only thing that does is helping you so that you're not ready to collapse right here and so that you have a clear head when we talk."

"Okay, Doctor Santino."

Dani sighed. "Under ordinary circumstances, I'd want you to use that name, but because of my connection to your uncle, I think it might be best if we go with Dani. This is not a normal therapist-patient relationship, and it... never could be. I may be a therapist, but in this case, think of me more as a friend who has some extra training, that's all."

"Really?"

"Juliette, there's no way I could be your doctor, not when I'm... dating your uncle," Dani tried to explain. "It's unprofessional, and... Apparently, I don't do well with boundaries myself. So what we're going to do now is get you something for the withdrawal and then we're going to have a conversation."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>Dani caught the time on her clock. Nico had been gone for more than two hours already, and she had decided that both she and Juliette needed a break. She was doing better with the help of a few over the counter medications, but those were just a stopgap and not a permanent solution. Juliette would need a chemical regimen, a regulated one, not something that Dani improvised until she could refer Juliette to a medical doctor for the rest. For now, though, at least she was stable enough to take a shower and finish cleaning up.<p>

Taking out her phone, she was about to call Jeanette when the doorbell rang. She sighed. Juliette was not ready to be left alone, and Jeanette was the best option until Nico came back from wherever he was. Dani did still have to talk to TK and Cherise, and she shouldn't put it off much longer. If Nico went to Chicago again—Dani shook her head. He had said that they would talk later, and she believed him. After all he'd said and done for Juliette, there was no way that he would have left without a very good reason.

She went to the door and opened it, frowning. "Matt. I didn't know you knew where I lived. What's going on—Did something happen to Nico? He said he had to take care of something, but he didn't say what it was, and if something happened—"

"Whoa, calm down," Matt said, surprised. He touched her arms, trying to keep her from more of an outburst. "As far as I know, nothing happened to Nico. I doubt the police would even have let him inside. They would have needed him because he probably created every security measure in that building, but he's not inside."

"Inside what?"

"Some low level worker in one of the corporate offices apparently went nuts and took hostages. It was all over the news that there was a standoff. Nico's gotta be there, yeah, but he's not inside," Matt assured her. He frowned. "What was with the hysterics, there? I've never seen you like that before."

Dani took a deep breath, struggling against the panic. She hadn't thought she would react like that—her first instinct was that something _terrible _had happened to Nico, and she lost it. She normally had a much clearer head—then again, she hadn't felt the way she did right now before. What she'd had with Ray was not what she had with Nico, and Ray had never been the type that put himself in harm's way—and neither did Matt. But Nico? Nico was all about putting himself in danger to fix situations.

"It's... complicated, Matt," Dani began. She still could feel herself trembling a little. The adrenaline was still going. "I'm sorry. What are you here for?"

"I came by to ask you about TK."

"TK? What about TK?"

"You're supposed to be the one that tells him about Cherise's mother. Coach is worried that he won't be able to play if he's thinking about that, and Laura thinks that we should tell him and her as soon as possible and then work on getting TK's head back in the game, but no one has actually seen TK today. I came to find you because Nico's got this hostage thing, and I got elected to find someone to 'take care' of it."

"I'm so flattered. Look, Matt, I have a few things to arrange, and then I was going to go to talk to TK, but I really don't know that we need to rush anything. TK was showing a surprisingly level head last night with the lawyers," Dani told him. "And—I don't know why I have to ask this because it should have been obvious, but has anyone _called _TK before this freakout?"

"Yes, we called. No, he's not answering."

"And you checked the hospital with Cherise?"

"He's not there. Devin is not there, either."

"I am not seeing the need to panic right now—"

"What was that, earlier, then? Because it certainly looked like you were panicking when it came to _Nico. _So you can panic over Nico, but you can't panic over TK? You know that he's unpredictable and unreasonable and everything in between? Nico can handle himself. We all know that. Why are you so worried about him? Wait, that tweet from TK? That was _real?"_

Dani sighed. She wasn't really going to explain the real situation—Matt did not need that particular detail—but he did need something. "Matt, I shouldn't have to explain TK's tweets."

"But you _do _have feelings for Nico, don't you?"

"And you don't for Laura?" Dani demanded. "Because if you don't, then you have _no _business being with her. You can be angry if you like about the boundaries that I imposed, boundaries that I didn't cross with you but have crossed with Nico. I never intended for _anything _to happen between us, but if there is one thing that Nico Careles is—it's an unstoppable force. I don't say that blaming him. This is not his fault. He didn't want it, and he's done his best to push me away. One thing that everyone will tell you is that you can't _choose _how you feel. You don't wake up one morning and say, 'I am going to fall in love with Matt' today. It doesn't work like that. You moved on with Laura. You don't get to be angry with me for doing the same with Nico."

"Dani, two days ago, he couldn't even admit to feeling anything for you—"

"And why the hell were you asking him about that?" Dani demanded. She shook her head. "Never mind. I don't want to know. Right now, you're hurt. I'm hurt. When the dust settles, though, you will see that I was never what you wanted or needed. If I was... the boundaries wouldn't have mattered, not in the long run. I'm finding more and more that they just keep being broken and blurred and blown all to hell by things none of us can control."

"Hey, Dani," Juliette called, leaning over the railing. "Do you have anything I could snack on, anything at all? I'm getting the munchies."

"Help yourself to the kitchen," Dani told her as she started down the stairs. "Just give me a second, okay?"

"I did have shoes, didn't I? I know I lost my purse, but I did have shoes, didn't I?" Juliette went on. She must not have been able to see Matt, or maybe she didn't care. It was hard to tell with Juliette. A lot of what she did was purely for attention, a behavior that Dani hoped to address, though she knew it would take a long time for the girl to change an entire pattern of behavior. "You're going to need more shampoo. I accidentally spilled the bottle."

"Not a problem," Dani assured her quickly. She didn't care about the shampoo. It was just a bottle, and Lindsay kept complaining about it anyway. She didn't like the smell.

"Dani," Matt hissed, grabbing her arm. "Do you have any idea who that is? She shouldn't be here. You don't know. I'm sure no one told you, not even Nico, but that girl is _bad news. _I know you probably think that you can help her, but you shouldn't. If they find out she's been here, you won't have a job. It doesn't matter if you're involved with Nico or not. He's under the same orders."

"Nice to see you, too, Donnally. Thanks for the touching concern for my well-being," Juliette muttered, shaking her head. "You might think my uncle is a heartless bastard. He might even ask me why I sleep with men I don't know in front of complete strangers, but even then he never judges me. Not like the rest of you. He _knows _what I've done. Don't think for a second that he doesn't. He knows all of it. The difference is that he doesn't judge me. People like you—people who don't actually know—they _always _judge."

"Juliette," Dani said, touching her arm. "This confrontational behavior does not help. It's true, no one has the right to judge you. But this isn't the way to address it, either. Go ahead and get something to eat, take a minute, and calm down."

"Sure, whatever. Whatever my uncle is doing had better be important."

"It is," Dani told her. "He's dealing with a hostage situation. Yeah, sounds nuts and Matt was my source, so maybe it's not true, but I—for one—believe that your uncle would not have left unless it was important. He truly wants to help you."

"Yeah, whatever."

Dani sighed as the girl walked into the kitchen. She turned back to Matt. "I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you thought you were acting in my best interests in trying to warn me off from Juliette. I am going to make this perfectly clear, though. No one tells me who I will and will not see as a patient. Not you. Not Nico. And not Marshall Pittman. I always have a choice. I can and will walk away if I need to. I _asked _to be a part of helping her. I _insisted. _I even banged on Nico's car. He warned me off. I was fully informed, and I did it anyway. I am going to help that girl. And just to annoy you more—I'm not doing it as a doctor, not as a therapist. As a _friend. _As her uncle's girlfriend. And now you are going to leave because I need to fix the damage that you have done. I bet I know exactly where TK is, but I am not going to tell you where that is. I will contact him later, and that is going to have to satisfy you. Maybe before I could have gone in there and spoken to Juliette about leaving for a short while but that girl has been abandoned all her life and I will _not _be another person who does that. I am here to help people. That is not just a job for me, and if Marshall Pittman fires me, I don't care. I will help the people I need to help."

"Dani, I didn't—"

"I know. Just go. Now. I am the one that will handle TK, and I will take care of Juliette. And you don't have to be in the middle of it. Tell whoever you want that I am helping her. I don't care."

"I wouldn't rat you out. It's not like that."

"Matt, given the conversation that we had before you saw Juliette, I'm not surprised that this exploded into something worse, but now is the time when we step back and get cooler heads for everyone. You will go, I will talk to Juliette, and I will talk to TK," Dani insisted, guiding Matt back toward the door. Really, the way this day had gone—and it was still rather early—was just one big mess of bad timing.

She shut the door behind Matt and took a deep breath. That had gone about as well as a train wreck. She put a hand over her stomach, hoping it would stop rolling. After the panic attack over Nico and losing her temper with Matt, she did not feel very good.

She took out her phone again. "Jeanette? Hey, it's me. Look, I need a favor. Yeah, kind of a big one..."


	23. Hostages

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,276  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: To the twins, I don't care what you say, I think you're both evil. :P Enjoy the hostage negotiation scene since I left it in because of you two. And thanks for clarifying the ESU vs SWAT thing.

* * *

><p><strong>Hostages<strong>

"This is like... foolproof," the ESU commander said, looking over Nico's security plans. He looked over at Nico and shook his head. "How did you manage to account for all of this?"

"I'm paranoid. Excessively so," Nico admitted, checking his watch. He did not like the way this was dragging on, personally and otherwise. He had far too much to do to linger here, and the longer the hostages were in there, the more likely it became that something would go wrong. "Have you made contact with the hostage taker?"

"The negotiator is talking to him."

"Do you have a name?"

"Mr. Careles, I am glad that you were able to share these plans and explain the possible access points, but I think your involvement here is done."

"You've gotten nowhere with him, am I correct?" Nico asked. The other man looked at him, and Nico was aware that they were getting ready to escort him out. "Depending on this man's security level, I may have done a background check on him. I may also have detailed files one him and access to information that you do not have. If you want it, I need a name."

The ESU commander frowned. He clearly did not want to give Nico what he was asking for, but he had little choice. The negotiator would need the information. "Come with me, then. I don't know how much they know. Or how much you know."

"Possibly very little, but it is hard to know at this moment," Nico said with a shrug. He walked along with the other man and into the other mobile unit.

"Lieutenant? I've got Mr. Careles here. He's the head of the company's security."

"I thought he was here to brief you on the building."

"I have," Nico said. He did a quick assessment of the equipment that they were using. It was older than what he would have used, though it was almost to be expected. He had the resources because of Pittman's organization. They did not. Still, he did not like that the lives of the hostages were in the hands of people that didn't have the proper equipment. His video cameras should have shown far more than the police feeds were getting. "Do you have a name of the man you're talking to? I can get you his personnel file and additional information as well, if you give me the name you have."

"And what to you expect to get for this information?"

"I am not interested in anything except ending this with minimal casualties. I protect the interests of the entire Pittman Group. That includes all of its employees. I am here to help in any way that I can. I have given you my diagrams, but that won't help you as much as you want to think it does. The minute you breach, people will die," Nico reminded him. "You have no visual inside? The network has several fail-safes in place, and not even my security teams know about all of them. If I may...?"

The negotiator hesitated. The phone rang. He picked it up. "Are you ready to talk now, Simon?"

Simon. The name was not the most common in the world, though it was also not all that uncommon, either. He took out his tablet—the police had been so kind as to confiscate his phone when he walked in. "That's most likely Simon Richards. He's a very low level executive... Ah, but he just recently separated. A former coworker—disciplined for fraternization with another man on her team. That explains why Richards took the hostages on that floor. He works two floors below."

"Mr. Careles, I need to be able to hear," the negotiator hissed, trying and failing to cover the handset.

"Careles? He's there?" Simon demanded, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I want to talk to him."

"Simon, we have—"

"Screw you! You're just some cop trying to talk me down. Everyone knows that Careles gets things done. I want to talk to him."

The negotiator gave Nico a death glare as he passed the phone to him. Nico put it to his ear. "Simon Richards?"

"How did you know?"

"That's not important. What is important is the lives of those people you are currently terrorizing. You've been employed with this company for ten years now. You've never had any problems before but then you've never had a wife be unfaithful before, have you?"

"She was everything to me."

"That is no reason to threaten everyone else. What do you really expect to gain? Is this because you want her to suffer? Sure, she's scared, but she's still winning because she thinks you're crazy. And stupid."

The negotiator tried to take the phone from him, and Nico twisted his arm, keeping it away from the handset. "Come on, Simon. You wanted to talk to me because you said I'd get things done. What do you want done here?"

"She really does think I'm stupid. I can see it in her eyes. I _am _stupid. Why did I do this? She doesn't care."

"Careles—"

"I would prefer not to spend the night in jail because of the assault charges you're going to file, but I swear I will snap your wrist if you don't stop trying to take this phone. I don't care what badge you're wearing or the additional time I'd have to serve, are we clear?" Nico asked coldly, shoving him back into the chair. The negotiator rubbed his wrist, still glaring. "Simon. There is no point in hurting your wife or any of the other people in there. I am willing to meet you, face-to-face and discuss your grievances. You feel the company was a part of her infidelity, right? That if she didn't work so closely with the other man, none of this would have happened? So what is it you expect from the company?"

"They'll shoot me if I come out now."

"No. You have my word that they won't. You just heard me threaten a police officer. Do you think that I won't make sure of your safety?" Nico asked. He waited. The silence told him he'd won, though he doubted the officers with him agreed. "Release everyone and meet me. I will walk out with you."

"You can't do that. You're a civilian—"

"You shut up. Now," Nico warned the negotiator again. "Simon?"

"They're coming out. Now. I want you to meet me when I let the last one go."

"Deal," Nico agreed. He set the phone down on the cradle and moved past the negotiator. "I will surrender to you when this has been resolved. That should be very shortly. And I would like my phone back. I have a call I have to make—my one phone call, if you will—before you process me. I have my methods, gentlemen, and you have yours, but our goal here is the same, so I'd advise you not to stop me."

He left the tent and walked into the building, pushing the button for the elevator. He was going to need to call Santino and hope that Juliette was still with her so that he could speak to them both at the same time and explain that there would be a further delay. With only one phone call, he would have to ask Santino to arrange for someone from his staff to handle the arrangements for Cherise's mother and perhaps even his bail. His decision had been impulsive and reckless, and he didn't like that about himself.

He took the elevator up to the right floor and stepped out. "Simon?"

The door to the offices opened and three people rushed past him, frantically going to the elevator that he'd just used. Nico looked at them and then at the door. "Simon, the rest of them need to come out now. You know that I'm here. I held up my part of the bargain."

Two more people left, women this time, but he did not see Mrs. Richards. "Simon, your wife needs to leave now."

"I want to kill her."

"If you hurt her, then I'll come in there and hurt you. Let her go."

Mrs. Richards came running out then, shaking her head. "I don't know why anyone called the police. You did it, not them."

Nico pointed her to the elevator, not commenting on that. He happened to agree, though he knew the standard procedures were in place for a reason. He knew that what he'd done wasn't safe, and had it been someone other than this particular man, Nico's methods would have been completely ineffective. Still, there was a part of him that thought it would have gone differently if he'd been called before the police and before it turned into a circus. "Simon?"

When the other man didn't answer, Nico walked into the room. He knew where Richards would be. Alone, on the floor, the gun in his lap, trying to decide if he could pull the trigger. This was where Santino would be better equipped to handle the situation. "Mr. Richards?"

"No one calls me that. They just laugh at me."

"I'm not laughing at you."

"Do you laugh at anyone?"

"Yes. I find scaring children amusing," Nico admitted, thinking of Danielle's children and how easy it was to mess with them.

"That's mean."

"Not so much when you know the children in question," Nico disagreed. The man continued to look at him. He shrugged. "I feel they lack discipline. And they're teenagers. That says enough."

Richards laughed. "Yeah, yeah, it does. These kids yours?"

Nico looked at the other man. Richards nodded. He already knew the answer. It was not a secret that Nico was single, with no children of his own. He was a great many things, but not a family man. "Come on. They're going to get impatient, and that's not a good thing for you—or me, at this point."

Richards handed Nico the gun, and Nico slipped his scarf off to wrap around it before he put it in his pocket. He led the other man into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. Richards was strangely calm, and Nico watched him suspiciously, waiting for the calm to fall apart. It didn't, not before they reached the first floor. The elevator doors opened.

"I have Richards. He's unarmed. Don't shoot," Nico called and then added, "either of us."

Richards looked over at him with a frown, and Nico walked out of the elevator. The other man followed and the police took him into custody. Nico handed over the gun to the ESU commander and waited. The commander passed the gun onto the nearest uniform to bag it for evidence and gave Nico his phone.

"You didn't mention you know the mayor."

"I don't, not personally," Nico answered honestly. "But he plays golf with my brother-in-law."

* * *

><p>"Nico!"<p>

He frowned as he walked through the final barrier separating the police from the onlookers, looking around. Dani forced her way through the crowd, rushing to his side. She threw her arms around him and held on tight. "Please don't do that to me ever, ever again."

"Danielle, what are you _doing _here? Where is Juliette?"

"With Jeanette. They really hit it off. They were going shopping—Jeanette doesn't care who she spends money on as long as she's spending it on clothes—and seemed to be having the time of their lives. I was actually going to ask her to check on TK for me, but when she and Juliette clicked, I thought it would be best if they stayed together. The more people she has around her that don't want her money, that aren't after sex or offering her drugs, the better. She needs to have people see her for who she is and who she can be and not judge her on the past."

Nico nodded, taking her arms down and looking at her. Oh, she shouldn't have come. He was angry that she had. She'd _had _to come, though. "Understandable, but that still doesn't explain you. Here. Now."

She took a deep breath. "I had a panic attack when Matt told me you'd gone to deal with a hostage situation and then I got in a fight with him—and so did Juliette—and then I called Jeanette and then I was going to Newark to find TK because he's not taking people's calls and has Devin with him and I was supposed to talk to him about Cherise's mother. I got on the highway, but instead of going there, I came here. I had the worst feeling, Nico, and it wouldn't go away until just now, when I saw you walking out of there. Damn it, why can't we have a normal day without a situation or crisis?"

"You could stop working for the Hawks."

She studied him. "But you won't."

"The Pittmans are family."

"Even after what they did to Juliette?"

He looked away. "It's complicated. More than you know. It... It goes back to our childhood. Mine and my sister's. Things that happened then that I couldn't stop. Promises I made that I cannot break."

She saw it again, that underneath all of the mystery and evasion and intimidation, he was vulnerable and damaged. Whatever had happened to him never healed. It wasn't just the alcoholism that he had to struggle with every day. This job—fixing these situations—this was how he coped with a life that had once been so out of control that something happened, something terrible, and he couldn't let go of it for a second, couldn't risk that lack of control.

She put her hands on his face and kissed him. "Next time, you have to tell me about the hostage situation before you leave. I do _not _want to hear it from someone else. Never again. That was like... getting a call from the school to say something had happened to one of the kids."

He nodded before he leaned his forehead against hers. "It really wasn't—Nothing happened to me. All of the hostages got out alive. The hostage taker is in custody. Everything worked out fine."

"Fine?"

He glanced toward the press and pushed her in the opposite direction as they started coming toward them. "I lost my temper a bit. Helps that Marshall's a good friend of the mayor's. He must have called the commissioner and got the negotiator to back off."

"What did you do?" Dani couldn't help asking. "I mean, they wouldn't have gotten that upset about you saying something, so what did you do?"

"Same thing I did to your ex-husband at your reunion."

"Really? To a cop?"

"What do you want me to say, Danielle? It was stupid and hasty and I wouldn't have done it if I was thinking clearly, but I don't think I've actually managed to do that since this whole thing started."

"You mean us?" she asked, feeling that unpleasant sensation in her stomach again. He was going to try and break it off. Again. Because she'd slipped. She'd said too much, and he didn't want that and oh, god, she felt like she was seventeen again and telling Ray that she was pregnant.

He stopped and touched her cheek gently. "I have a feeling you could drive anyone to distraction."

"Maybe. But the only one I want is you," she told him, touching his hand. "Matt and I did talk about us. Me and him and me and you. It wasn't the best conversation, and we'll talk again later when things are calmer, but he knows how I feel and where I stand."

Nico nodded, pulling away again. She sighed. "Damn it, Nico. Where the hell do you stand?"

He stopped and looked back at her. "I have no idea."

That was hardly the most reassuring thing he could have said. She should have known better, but it was killing her right now. She was too distracted to think about anything else. She should be with TK, and if not TK, then Juliette. She wasn't. Dani was right here, with Nico, and he didn't even want her. She was such a fool.

She turned to go back to her own car. She'd go take care of things with TK. She'd help Juliette. She'd try and remember to get some food for dinner. Nico grabbed a hold of her—not by the arm or hand but all the way around the waist—and pulled her back, right up against his chest. "You can't run off just because the answer I gave isn't the one you want to hear. I'm being honest right now. I don't know how else to put it. What we have between us goes against all my better judgment and logical arguments. I'm not a robot or one of those aliens from that television show, but I learned a long time ago that people hurt you if you let them close enough, and I stopped doing it. The last time I gave it any kind of real chance, it ended in divorce. A nasty, ugly one that left plenty of scars in its wake and not just on me or her. My closest relationship is with my niece, and you've seen how well that worked out. We both know that there are more reasons for us _not _to do this than there are _to _do it. Emotions, though, they have a way of overriding all of the logic and common sense and making us do whatever we _feel _like doing. Feelings are hard to know and even harder to trust. I don't mean instincts—I mean love. Anger. Jealousy. Those things are dangerous."

"Jedi code now?"

"If there was such a thing as peace, maybe."

"There _is. _We both felt it the other night when you slept over," she insisted. He looked down at her, and she sighed. "Fine. What now?"

"Now we find TK, tell him about Cherise. I make sure that my contacts in Chicago handle the arrangements for the funeral. And then it should be past time to check on Juliette."

"So we live our lives from situation to situation, maybe catching a rare break here and there where we can breathe and pretend to be normal for a moment?" she asked, shaking her head. This was not what she wanted. She knew it was what he thought he needed, but he had to be willing to delegate more, or he'd never have a chance of holding onto anything in his life.

Nico turned her around in his arms. "Everything is a situation. Even this. Us."

She made a face, and he kissed her. She thought that was a little _too _unfair. He knew exactly what he was doing, distracting her like that. He knew that she was weak when it came to the kisses. "So help me, Nico, if you tore your stitches in any of the stunts you pulled today, I will kill you myself."

"You can look at them later, _Doctor _Santino."


	24. A Corner

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,890  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: *sigh* Well, I suppose it's what I get for backing Nico into a corner...

* * *

><p><strong>A Corner<strong>

"Wait. Change of plans. Divide and conquer."

"Uh, excuse me?"

"The plan was to handle TK's situation, tell him about the grandmother and return him to the hospital, then deal with Juliette. That won't work," Nico began, and Dani frowned at him. "Juliette has a problem with shoplifting. It doesn't matter how much money she has—she did it when she had access to all of her parents' money. It—it was another thing she did for attention. She got a big kick out of seeing me show up to pay for what she'd taken. She... She said it was the only way to see me."

Dani took a deep breath. "Nico, I am not saying this to blame you or judge you, but your pattern of behavior _was _a contributing factor to the self-image Juliette has now. Her parents didn't want to see her. Her nannies didn't want to hear her. The only one she had was you, and you... let all the other situations take precedence over her."

Nico's grip tightened on the wheel, and she knew he was hurting. "Please, please, don't take this and make it all your fault. It wasn't. I know you were the one that was there for her, and that is huge. Parents aren't perfect, and they can't always be there. You're her uncle. She should have gotten what she needed from her parents."

"Don't try to excuse my behavior. I didn't make an effort to be there for her. I could have. I didn't. It's simple."

"Nico, Juliette's choices are still her own. Her addiction is her own. You can't fix her self-image for her. You can't undo the past. You can't sit there and take all the blame for everything that went wrong in her life—"

"Why not? I clearly did a terrible job in raising her mother."

"You... raised your sister? How much older than her are you?"

"That doesn't matter. I was older. I took care of us. You know what my father was like. He didn't do anything for us."

"What about your mother?"

"Not relevant."

"How can your mother not be relevant?" Dani couldn't help asking. Yes, Nico had admitted that his father was an alcoholic, he'd gotten defensive when she asked if he was abusive, but he'd never once mentioned what happened to his mother. Had she died, then? That made her irrelevant in Nico's eyes?

"She left. That's what you really want to know, isn't it?" Nico demanded, and Dani looked over at him. That anger... That was almost scary. Whatever had gone really wrong when he was younger, his mother leaving was a big part of that. "She walked away from her family. That would make her irrelevant to any discussion except that my sister follows the same pattern of behavior. Her mother abandoned her, and she abandoned Juliette. It's a cycle. It goes on, the same damage on each generation."

Dani looked at him, shaking her head. "It doesn't _have _to. Those are the behaviors we see and we grow up with, but we can overcome them. It might take us longer—might take us our whole lives—but we _can _overcome what we've learned and we _can _take a different path."

"You mean because you're not a gambling addict like your mother?"

"You were pretty clear on how you didn't blame your alcoholism on your father."

"Oh, no, could have pinned it on my mother, too, but what's the point of blaming either of them?" Nico asked, shaking his head. "They weren't ever the ones that put the bottle or glass in my hand. My father would have yanked it away, and as I told you, she was never there."

"_Exactly," _Dani agreed, and he looked at her. "You know you had a choice. I have a choice. We all have choices. One thing you somehow managed to forget in the middle of taking responsibility for all of this is that you _did _take responsibility. You didn't leave, Nico. Juliette interpreted what you were doing as another form of leaving her, but it wasn't. You haven't left her. You didn't cut her off. You've been trying to help her. You're still trying to help her."

Dani leaned across the car and touched the hand that was not on the wheel. "I know you're not comfortable talking about your past. I know I don't even know half of why, and some people might jump to the conclusion that you're afraid or ashamed of your past, but it's not that. Don't, please. Don't look at me like that. I—Nico, you are so much more than anyone has seen or knows. You're so much stronger than anyone realizes, even though they're terrified of you. The thing is, though, I know that you have the strength to face your past. You have a lot unresolved there, and it's starting to come out now. The way you just spoke about your mother... You need to let it out instead of bottling it all up."

"I am not your patient."

"I know that. You're the man that I—you could never have been my patient. You would have driven me crazy with vague evasions and I would have told you what you really needed was a friend," she told him, and he looked over at her dubiously. "Nico, people don't open up to therapists as their first choice. Sometimes not even their fifth or sixth choice. We open up to our friends. A therapist can't give you what a friend can, and you need that more than you'd ever need a therapist."

"You—I have no interest in revisiting my past or dealing with it. I don't have any interest in letting any of it out. The past is done. It can't be undone. Change is for the future, and the past will be left alone."

"So if I ask you anything about your past again, we're done, is that what you're saying?"

"You are an intelligent, beautiful, professional woman. You could have any man that you wanted. I am not willing nor am I available to be fixed."

She glared at him. That's what he thought she was doing? Trying to _fix _him? She barely understood him, and she couldn't fool herself into thinking she could _change _him, whatever she felt about him. "What now, then? You pull over to the side of the road, leave me there, and have one of your men come pick me up? You're actually _considering _that, aren't you?"

"I am not—No. There is no way I could leave you out here," Nico said, his eyes not leaving the road. She sighed. At least he wasn't going to do that, but he clearly wanted her nowhere near him right now. Maybe she'd pushed too much. Too far. She knew that he was going to have to give, a little, but he wasn't willing to do that right now.

"Maybe what we really need is a break," she said, looking out her window. "Maybe if there weren't all these _situations_ that are pulling us in every direction, maybe then we'd have a conversation that didn't become an accident. You'd open up about your past without feeling forced or weak or vulnerable. You wouldn't be angry. We'd have time just like that night. It was just us and no pressure and it felt good. As good as the kisses. There is so much _good _about us, Nico. I don't want to let that go."

"The situation with TK is almost as resolved as it's going to be. He will be a part of that woman's life and that child's life, and that is a long-term commitment, but it's not a crisis anymore. Your friend was right. He surprised us. In the end, he acted with a maturity that I didn't think he had," Nico said, and Dani looked at him. She didn't—He was actually considering taking a break? Really? No. Not him. "However, Juliette's in no shape to be left alone. I've been here before. She needs someone there almost constantly in the first few days, and after that... it works until she's unsupervised again. That's the nature of addiction."

"Not for everyone."

"I am not the poster child for overcoming addiction, either. I don't have a special chip from AA to say I have those fifteen years sober. I never went there. I don't do support groups. I don't do therapy. I didn't get help. I pushed away anyone who tried." Nico shook his head again. "I don't recommend trying it my way at all. It was the only way that I could do it, but Juliette is not me. She needs the outside connections far more than I ever did and not just because of the addiction."

Dani forced herself not to say what she was thinking. He needed those connections more than he knew, but now was not the time to push him on that point. "Then she needs to make them, and not just with me or you. Maybe Jeanette can help. Maybe we need someone else. Juliette will need a doctor for the chemical therapy, but from what I heard in her voice about the rehab center—"

"She's not going back there," Nico said coldly, and Dani looked over at him. He looked down again. "Or any of them. I left her in one once. I won't do it again. I shouldn't have done it to Cherise's mother."

"Then we'll make it work another way," Dani agreed. She took another deep breath, trying not to think about what had gone wrong at the center. She wondered if he thought what happened to Cherise's mother was his fault. She'd committed suicide, but that didn't mean he didn't blame himself for putting her there. "But we'll talk to TK first. No divide and conquer."

Nico looked over with a frown. "Juliette shouldn't—"

"You have to give her breathing room. Even on the first day. Jeanette is smarter than she seems, and I know I can trust her with Juliette or I never would have done it, not even for TK. I know you think she might shoplift—well, she needs to have the choice and turn it down. Maybe she can today. Maybe she can't. But if you don't give her the choice, then... It'll send the message that she's incapable of resisting those bad behaviors. That's something she _wants _to believe. It's easier to think she has no choice and can't fix it than to step up and make the choice. You know how hard that is."

"If you keep relating everything back to my alcoholism—"

"It gives you a basis for understanding, Nico, and it's not going to go away. You know that. You have known it since you were a kid with your father. You make the choice for you. She needs to make the choice for her," Dani insisted. She twisted in her seat, moving the shoulder strap for a moment. "Whatever happens with Juliette today, we will deal with later. TK first. And hopefully there will be nothing to worry about with Juliette."

"And then there will be time to discuss the other situation?"

Dani sighed. "I don't know if I can do what you do, Nico, living from crisis to crisis like this. I like having a schedule. Appointments. Time for my children, even if they don't want to spend it with me. You let this fill your life, but if you want more than it, something's going to have to give."

"I prefer things stay as they are," Nico said, parking the car and getting out. Dani looked around in confusion. She hadn't even realized they'd reached Newark yet. She sighed and reached for the door handle. Nico's words hurt far more than she wanted to admit, and she was in no state to face TK, but she was going to have to try.

* * *

><p>"There you go. Yeah, just like that," TK coached Devin as Nico approached them. His mind was full of so many things that he didn't watch his step and TK heard him coming. The receiver turned around and frowned. "Nico? Something wrong? Why didn't you just call—oh, snap. I left the phone in the car. Damn. It isn't Cherise, is it?"<p>

Nico turned and looked back for Santino. She was supposed to handle telling TK about Cherise's mother, but Nico hadn't waited for her. "It's not Cherise, but it affects her."

"What the hell is it, then?"

Santino made her way over, and Nico could see that she was fighting her emotions and even tears. He hated himself for doing that to her. It wasn't that he wanted to hurt her. He didn't. Why didn't she just accept the conclusion he'd come to? This was not going to work. It would hurt less to end it now than to let it persist.

"Doc, you okay?" TK asked. He turned to Nico. "What the hell did you do to her? I'll kick your ass if you hurt her."

"That is unlikely," Nico said, stating a fact before turning to Santino. "Tell him. I can arrange another car to take you back home or you can ride with him."

She looked at him. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Foist me off on TK and be done with it? Guess what? We haven't finished our conversation, not by a long shot. And you are not the only one who is helping Juliette, so you're _not _getting rid of me that easily."

"Talking has only acerbated the situation," Nico countered. "And do _not _use my niece as leverage."

"Dude, you two want a room or something? 'Cause I'm pretty sure you _don't _want me hearing whatever's about to go down here."

Nico's eyes narrowed, and TK moved toward Santino, just a fraction, but enough to notice. She didn't, though. She wasn't paying attention to TK. Her eyes hadn't left Nico. "Maybe this constant fighting between us needs an outlet. The tension needs to be expressed in more than words and then maybe we'd stop winding each other up so much and actually be able to talk calmly and handle the situations that need to be handled."

"You want to spar with me?" Nico asked, deliberately misunderstanding her. He knew what she was really getting at, but he did not want to do this like that. He was not ignorant of biological impulses and physical needs. Despite Juliette's conclusion, there had been women in his life. No one steady and no real relationships, but he had the same needs as other men. The other women had not been interested in anything more, making the whole thing a more... mutually beneficial arrangement than anything else. Of course, putting it that way made it sound like he paid for their services. He did not. Typically, the women he became involved with were ones that placed their career before anything else and were not interested in marriage or a relationship.

"Dude, I would pay _money _to see that," TK said, and Santino looked over at him this time. "No, really, you and the big N doing some boxing or karate or whatever it is he knows—_awesome." _

Nico shook his head. "I was trained to kill, Terrence. It is not a good idea."

"Fine, fine, but the doc is right. You two need to work this thing between you out. It's like," TK held out his hands and wiggled them as they went up and down Nico's body then Santino's, "explosive around here."

Nico decided he'd had enough. Santino was supposed to break this to TK, but Nico was done. "Cherise's mother killed herself in the rehab center. Arrangements have begun for the funeral, but you should return to her, give her back her son, and let us finalize things."

"Nico!" Santino cried, frowning at him. "What the hell? I thought I was here to break it to TK gently. What was gentle about that?"

"Nothing," he admitted. He was not usually this impatient, but the last few days had taken their toll on him. Santino was right. They all needed a break. With Juliette, though, they weren't going to get one. "It was taking too long."

"Right," she muttered, turning to TK. "While I wish he'd given me the time to tell you, it's true, and we do need to get you back to Cherise so that she can deal with the final arrangements and Devin will need to be told."

TK nodded. Santino looked back at Nico. "You and I, on the other hand, need to have _another _conversation."

Nico reached out to touch her face. "The longer this goes on, the more my unwillingness to be fixed or change is going to frustrate you and hurt you and even cause collateral damage. It's not something either of us wants. Let it go."


	25. A Division

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,232  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So I looked, but Jeanette doesn't have a last name that I could find anywhere. I went ahead and gave her one because it didn't feel right to have Nico call her Jeanette.

* * *

><p><strong>A Division<strong>

Nico walked away, and Dani stared after him, struggling to breathe. She should have known. She should have expected this. It shouldn't have blindsided her, and it shouldn't hurt so much. She blinked and realized that she was about to cry again.

"I'm gonna kill him," TK said, and Dani had to reach out and grab his arm to stop him.

"Kill who, TK?" Devin asked, and TK winced when he looked down at the boy. They'd all kind of forgotten that Devin was there, since he'd been playing instead of standing with them.

"No one. Really. I don't kill people. I just... got angry," TK admitted. He shook his head. "I'm still angry. I ought to go and—"

"Terrence," Dani interrupted, trying to keep him from saying something else he shouldn't in front of Devin. She took a deep breath. "I actually... don't think he meant it. I hate to sound like one of those women, but... Nico had a rough day, whether he admits it or not. He's had to deal with a lot of his past today and then there was a hostage situation, and I think he just got pushed too far. The way he was—I can't tell you all that he told me, but I think that silly man is trying to push me away in a misguided attempt to protect me. The two of us need to talk, again, where there's less pressure and less tension and where Nico isn't already defensive because he's talking about his past."

"Still, Doctor D, he hurt you. Bad."

She nodded. "Yeah, TK, he did. It hurts that he pushed me away and it hurts that he doesn't seem to trust me. Still, underneath all of Nico's layers is a man who cares very deeply and protects the people he cares about, even if it means protecting them from himself. He's convinced that he'll hurt me more later, so he's trying to stop that by hurting me now."

TK shook his head. "That's messed. He likes you. He should be taking care of you. Flowers, chocolates, _love..." _

Dani sighed. "Let's go back to the hospital. We need to talk to Cherise, and I know where to find Nico. He needs some time to cool off without me, and then I'm going to kick his as—butt."

"Sure thing, Doctor D. Let me know if you need back up, though. I'm there," TK told her, picking up Devin, who squealed and started running for the car when TK put him back down. Dani smiled slightly, but she was still trying to cope with her fight with Nico. She knew that he was reacting defensively, that wounded animal backed into a corner. The wounds from his childhood had never healed, and the bandages had been ripped off. Nico needed time to regroup, to figuratively lick his wounds, and once he'd had a chance to put that armor of his back, then he'd be able to talk again. Some people would push harder, breaking through that armor, but she wasn't like that. She wasn't out to break him. She didn't break any of her patients, not even for the sake of building them back up. That was not her. She wanted trust. She based everything on that.

Nico needed to be able to see that he could trust her.

She got in the car with TK and Devin, settling into the back seat. She wasn't sure how she was going to handle this. If she knew that, it would never have gotten to this point. She would have handled it perfectly and not gotten to the point where he'd broken up with her in front of a witness. Damn it, if that was what he thought, if he thought that doing it in front of TK made it as permanent and out in the open as TK's little tweet had done, then he was mistaken. He'd been hurt with all the talk about his past, and she'd been hurt by him. It was a cycle, but that cycle was going to end.

They would confront this, they would talk, and if this ended, then it was damn well going to be a mutual decision after they'd actually talked without a damn situation interrupting them and making everything tense. She wanted a break. He _needed _a break. In the quiet, things were perfect. They needed to be able to handle _both _the quiet and the chaos.

She took out her phone and sent a text to Jeanette. _How much did you spend? Did you buy the whole store?_

_Always. Got you something. But you're going to need a very special occasion to wear it._

Dani groaned. TK looked over at her. She shook her head. "Just Jeanette. I'm fine."

She had a feeling that she wouldn't be. When she saw whatever Jeanette had found, she would probably have one thought on her mind—wearing it around Nico. That was just painful right now. She needed to think about something—_anything _that wasn't Nico. Her phone beeped again.

_Remember my friend with the beach house? _

Dani frowned. What did the beach house matter?

_I asked. You can have it for as long as you like. I say you take dark and mysterious there, but... someone else could stay there instead._

Juliette. Dani smiled a little. Jeanette had found a place for Juliette to clean up and put her life in order. Her friend was amazing. She smiled and sent a text back to thank her before closing her eyes and trying to get some rest on the way back.

* * *

><p>"Shh," the blond said, holding a finger to her lips as she opened the door for Nico. He frowned at her, and she looked like she was going to giggle as she "snuck" over into the other room. He followed without the exaggerated movements or sound and saw Juliette asleep on the couch, her arms wrapped around a pillow. Santino's friend turned back to him. "She tired herself out there. So sweet. So sad, though."<p>

"Sad?"

"Yeah," the woman began. "She... I guess you just had to be there to see her face when the clothes didn't fit. I don't think she had any idea how thin she is now. She's like a rail. Everything was two sizes too big, and nothing was flattering."

Nico looked back at his niece. "How long has she been asleep?"

"Not long. And you're not waking her. I don't care who you are or what you can do. Well, okay, I do, but you shouldn't wake her."

He wasn't sure how long he could reasonably afford to give Juliette, not that he liked the idea of waking her. A part of him said that he should take her away from here right now. It would take Santino longer to get back to the city, to deal with TK, and to come here, but he wasn't stupid enough to think that he would avoid her for long. She used the word conversation like a threat, and it was one she always followed through with.

"My niece—"

"Is a bit of a klepto. Yeah, I saw the look, but I also saw that she didn't take anything," Balzarini answered. "I... I've done it. I know what it's like. I know a lot of the tricks. She didn't do any of them. You are a very paranoid man. Do you ever think of anything besides the worst case scenario?"

Nico shook his head. "Nothing less than the worst can prepare you for what's coming."

"Honey," Balzarini said, touching his arm. "You can't prepare for everything, and you _can't _enjoy the good if you're always worrying about the bad. Man, between you and Dani... You both could stand to lighten up. A lot."

He looked down at the hand on his arm and back at her. She took it off, jumping back a little. "Jeez. You should market that stare. It's... like a weapon."

Nico sighed. "I should go. I should also take Juliette with me. Thank you for spending time with her today, Ms. Balzarini."

"Jeanette. It was a pleasure, and _no."_

"No?"

"Stop it. The stare is scary, but no, I will _not _give in and I will _not _let you take her and I haven't even told you about the beach house idea and if you want my advice, you will take Dani there and get away for a while."

Nico almost smiled. He could see why this woman was such a big part of Santino's life. "If I decided to take my niece, there would be nothing you could do to stop me. I did not ask for your advice, and I do not agree with it. What would be best for your friend is if I was no part of her life at all. And if she had no involvement with my family at all."

He walked past Balzarini and over to the couch, kneeling next to it. Juliette's eyelids fluttered, and he smiled. "I knew you were faking."

"Jeanette's sweet, but she's kind of loud," Juliette admitted, opening her eyes. She sat up and looked at him. She reached out to touch his hair and then his cheek. "You look tired. How was the emergency?"

"All of the hostages and the man who took them hostage are fine," Nico told her. Her eyes got wide, and she frowned for a minute, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. She should know better, but she didn't trust him anymore. "I was only supposed to tell them about my security measures—"

"Like anyone could crack what you did. The police were probably clueless about how to get in as much as the people inside didn't know how to get out. So... did you tell them all your secrets?"

"No."

"I knew it!" she cried, laughing. "Sneaky, sneaky uncle of mine. I was telling Jeanette that there was no playing hide-n-seek with you. You always found me in seconds, but that time I tried to find you... I actually thought you must have left."

"Whereas I thought I was being easy on you and making an obvious choice."

She smiled. "Only for you. Your brain is so freaking warped, Nico."

He shrugged. "Are you ready to go?"

Juliette folded her arms over her chest. "Did you break up with Dani?"

He heard Balzarini make a noise that sounded a little like she was choking and a bit like she'd snorted. He looked at her, and she faked a cough. "It's nothing. I'm fine. Answer the question."

"Doctor Santino has not had her final say yet," Nico told his niece. Juliette frowned again. That was all the answer she needed, though. All the answer either of them needed. This was not their concern since it was between him and Danielle.

"She better say you're an idiot and not listen to whatever excuse you gave her," Juliette said, shaking her head. "Come on. I _saw _that kiss. More than one. You want her. Why can't you just be with her? You always say that I don't have to be Mom or Dad, but aren't you kind of letting what your mom and dad did make your decisions for you?"

"Juliette, do you remember when I fired that gardener?"

Her face lost some of its color. "I thought we weren't—"

"That is the man I am," Nico reminded her. "Don't forget that. You know what I am capable of."

"But that was because he was a total creep. You don't go hurting people for no reason," Juliette insisted. He saw tears in her eyes. He shouldn't have brought that up, knowing the pain it would cause her, but she had always carried a bit of hero worship for him that he did not deserve. "You don't."

"Then explain to me why I twisted a police officer's arm today."

"You did?"

He nodded. "I did. I nearly broke it. I lost control, and it has to stop."

"Your girlfriend is a therapist. She could help with that."

"Not only is that a violation that could cost her her license, she can't help because she's a part of the problem, of the loss of control," Nico explained. "I was alone for a reason. I should stay alone for the same reason."

"Are you planning on leaving now?"

"A few days to clear my own head is in everyone's best interest," he agreed. He saw the look on her face. She had never understood when he took time off—it was rare enough that people believed that he never did—and had no idea where he went or what he did on these trips. No one did. "Would you like to come with me? We'd have to make sure we got that drug therapy in place first."

"You'd take me?"

He nodded.

"Do I get to be carried like a monkey?"

Nico heard Balzarini laughing her head off, and he smiled slightly. "I have stitches, so no. Later, after they're gone, maybe."

"I don't believe you. You just don't want to let me do it."

He pulled out his shirt and took off the bandage. Juliette winced. "Gross, Uncle Nico. I swear, that has to be infected. Doesn't it hurt?"

"Now it does, a little."

"A _little. _God, you are such a freak," Juliette said. "Fine. Doctor. Now."

* * *

><p>Dani stood outside the hospital room again. She'd lost track of how many times she'd been in this spot, and she really didn't know that she wanted to know. She just hoped that it would very soon be the last time. TK looked like he was doing okay with Cherise and Devin. Cherise hadn't cried, just nodded, when she'd heard about her mother, and Devin had seemed more confused than anything else. Still, TK's choice was going to see them through this. The mother's death cut one of their remaining ties to Chicago, and moving would probably have more appeal now.<p>

Dani's phone beeped, and she took it out, checking the text. _911. Your man went AWOL with his niece. _

She called Jeanette immediately. "What was that text?"

"Tall, dark, and scary was here earlier. He and I talked for a bit, and then he noticed his niece was awake, spoke to her, they had this really odd conversation that was full of stuff that I wanted to find cute but had this whole undertone to it that was more on the tragic side and then she asked him point blank if he broke up with you."

Dani found the nearest wall and leaned against it. "He certainly did his best to."

"Yeah, he said you hadn't had your final say. Did he really twist a police officer's arm today?"

"I didn't see it, but he told me he did, yes," Dani agreed, letting out a breath. "He is such a mess, Jeanette. I want to help him—maybe he's right and I just want him because I think I can fix him."

"Honey, I saw you kiss him. It is not about fixing him, okay? You're attracted to him. You want him _bad. _And it goes beyond wanting him. When you care about someone, you don't want to see them hurting. That man, sweetie, he's hurting. I'm not talking about that cut on his side, either."

Dani knew what she meant. TK had only seen Nico get cold and push her away like an insensitive bastard. He hadn't seen Nico get angry in the car. He hadn't seen the way the subject of Nico's mother nearly unglued him. Dani had. She'd also seen him with Juliette. She'd heard him talk about being an alcoholic and what that had done to him. The fact that so much of Nico's past had come out in about half a day was like someone ripping the bandage off and taking his stitches with it. He had put those memories and the past away in some place where he didn't think about it, some place where he could ignore it, maybe even pretend that it didn't happen. He'd compartmentalized it, right? Boxed it up and set it somewhere out of reach. Now all of that rearranging and blocking and compartmentalizing had come undone, and it was taking its toll.

"I know, Jeanette. I know. I think it was just too much—Juliette and everything that happened after that. He opened up, but he doesn't know how to cope with what he let out any more now than he did before. His instinct is to put it all away again, and I didn't let him do it because I kept bringing it back up."

"Okay..."

"I can't tell you. It's private."

"Dani, he twisted a guy's arm today and is desperately afraid of becoming a man who does far worse, judging from that look on his niece's face when he talked about what he'd done to some gardener. I guess the guy got what was coming to him, but your man is running scared of whatever that was that he did."

Dani ran a hand through her hair. "Nico has SEAL training, remember?"

"You think he killed the gardener for whatever that guy did to his niece?"

Dani frowned. She hadn't quite gone there, didn't _want _to go there. She didn't want to think of Nico as a killer, though she knew that he might have killed someone when he was in the Navy. "I don't know. I know he has a lot of issues with control, a real need to feel in control, and right now I know that he doesn't. It... scares him, though he'd never admit that."

"He almost did," Jeanette said. "Honey, that man—you have to go find him, wherever he is. Smack him upside the head and tell him that _you're _not scared. You could never be scared of him. For him, yeah, but of him, no, and tell him that he needs to accept that you're going to be there whether he likes it or not. Then tie him to a bed for a few days."

Dani laughed. She couldn't help it. "Thanks for that."

"Hey, you need to smile. So does he," Jeanette told her. "Finding him could be hard, though, if he's got that SEAL training..."

"Yeah," Dani muttered. She thought for a moment about where the hell Nico might go to ground and knew she had no idea. Pittsburgh was the only place she could think of, and she doubted that Nico would go anywhere _near _there. Then she remembered. "Nico took Juliette with him, right?"

"He did. And that's probably not a good thing."

"It is if you think about it. She has a phone. And both our numbers. I just have to wait for the call, and I'll know _exactly _where he is."


	26. An Ambush

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 4,030  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So... anyway... the paraphrase is from _The_ _Mirror Has Two Faces_, sort of. I looked up the quote and was not going to put the actual thing in, but there you go. :P

* * *

><p><strong>An Ambush<strong>

"Admit it, you were starting to think she wasn't going to call," Jeanette said from the driver's seat of her car, looking over at Dani.

Dani sighed. It had been two days since Nico disappeared, and it _did _feel that way at times. It wasn't that Dani wasn't busy. She'd spent the last couple days helping TK and Cherise find an apartment for her—no small feat in itself because they'd done all the viewings with Cherise still in the hospital and through a video call—and that had taken up the majority of her time. Dani shouldn't have been able to find a spare minute to spend on Nico, but she had.

It didn't help that this whole time off concept was completely foreign to everyone when it came to him. Everyone was giving her looks. They all figured that whatever time he took off should have been with her or something. Like Nico was really the type to go off for any kind of romantic weekend. He hadn't even been willing to take a break. He wasn't even taking one now because he had Juliette with him. It was admirable that he'd made sure he handled that responsibility, but it also meant that whatever he usually did when he took off time, he wasn't really doing it.

"I guess I was. I thought it would be sooner."

"You know, as much as I think he needs a good slap, I'm sure that he also needed a bit of time away from you," Jeanette began. Dani looked at her. She shrugged. "Hey, he has his niece with him. That's something. When he looked at me, he was all sorts of scary. I almost backed down at that stare. It _should _be a weapon. Still, he sat down next to that girl, and he _smiled. _She brings out something in him—and that something is adorable. No wonder you're in love with him."

"Jeanette, please," Dani said, feeling a bit queasy again. "Don't say that."

"Nothing wrong with the truth, is there?"

"When the truth is that I'm still in the middle of a divorce, that I was still hung up on Matt, and that all of this stuff with Nico has actually happened in less than a week, yeah, there kind of is."

Jeanette laughed. "Sweetie, we don't get to pick who we fall in love with. I mean, look at me, I married Rudy, remember? At least your Nico is nothing like that one. He's a big giant mess, but he's not a giant idiot."

"I thought you said he was."

"When it comes to avoiding you, yes. Otherwise, he seems pretty damn smart," Jeanette said, parking the car in front of the address she'd gotten. "Okay, I may not know tall, dark, and scary like you do, but I swear this can't be where he's staying."

"He's got his niece with him, remember?"

"I know, but I offered him a beach house. Why would he pick some obscure apartment building in the middle of this place? He has access to money, right? What's so... special about here?"

"I don't know," Dani answered, opening the car door and getting out. If this was some kind of joke, she didn't want to hear the punchline. He could have gone anywhere, but he hadn't. He'd found a relatively simple place to stay, and while that probably worked for him, it probably didn't do anything for Juliette.

"Wait for me. I don't want you disappearing inside there," Jeanette said, coming up and taking Dani's arm. "Although... maybe I should stay outside. We'd have to get Margot to take care of the kids if something goes wrong here because you can't leave them with Ray, and she's... Well, I think I'd do a better job, sweetie."

Dani laughed. "Trust me, if anything went wrong, I'd expect you to take care of them, but I don't think that Juliette is leading us into any kind of trap. Besides, you've got a whole other city for shopping once we've talked to Juliette."

"And I'm sure I'll find the greatest deals that New York doesn't have," Jeanette muttered, shaking her head as she pushed the button for the elevator. Dani smiled at her, and her friend sighed. Nico's choice of hideouts was surprising on many levels. She didn't expect him to be on anything but the ground floor, really, and she had no idea what his connection to this place was, but he was here.

The elevator doors opened, and they went inside. Dani leaned against the wall, trying to prepare herself for what she'd do when she saw Nico again. She wanted to yell and scream and quite possibly throw things or hit him and then... she wanted to grab him and kiss him and do things to him that... Oh, damn it, why couldn't she just be mad at him? It would be simpler to get angry and let him end it. Only it wasn't. They would still have to work together, and she knew too much to step back and pretend that this was nothing. She _felt _too much.

Jeanette pulled her along by the arm as the elevator's doors opened up again on the top floor, dragging her over to the one door on the floor and knocking. Dani looked at Jeanette a bit nervously. If Nico was here...

The door opened, and Juliette grinned at them. "Hey. Long time no see."

Dani wondered if she was wearing something she bought with Jeanette or if this was something she'd picked because she was with her uncle. The patterned tank was one of those babydoll ones and went down almost to her knees. She had a short black sweater over it, and her hair was in a ponytail. She had on the most ridiculous fuzzy pink slippers Dani had ever seen and a pair of dark blue jeans. She looked good, though, and that was something, at least. Dani didn't think she'd ever forget the outfit Juliette had been wearing the first time she saw her. This was so different. Most of her was covered, but maybe the slippers were a hint of rebellion.

"Come in," Juliette said, waving them inside. "And don't wig just yet. Nico's not here."

"He's not?"

"Why do you think I was so specific about the time?" Juliette countered, shutting the door behind Dani and Jeanette. "He always goes out around this time in the afternoon. Don't ask me what he does. He doesn't say."

"He leaves you alone?" Dani asked, surprised.

Juliette shrugged. "I think it's more that he has to get away from me for his own sanity. I'm a bit much to take when I'm not dragging from withdrawal. My uncle's all mysterious and brooding and quiet and stoic and all that, right? Me, I'm energy and nerves and bouncing everywhere. He really doesn't know what to do with me. I'm this way with all the new guys I meet. They think I'm so flirty and fun at first, and then they get a hint of my issues and bail."

"That just means they weren't worth it," Jeanette muttered. "Like all of my husbands."

"Did one of your exes really stab my uncle?" Juliette asked, going into the kitchen. She took a bottle of citrus soda out of the fridge and poured it into a cup. "You guys want anything? Nico has a strict no alcohol or drugs in here thing, so I can't hook you up with any of that, but I can offer pop or coffee or milk or water. You know, it's kind of odd. I think I've actually seen my uncle eat more in the last two days than I have most of my life. I remember him cleaning me up before, and he fed me then, but I can't remember him actually _eating." _

"At least he is," Dani said, trying to keep up with Juliette's hyper speech. She was going as fast as Dani did when she got nervous. "What chemical regimen do the doctors have you on, if you don't mind me asking?"

Juliette laughed. "You think I'm taking something, don't you?"

"Well..." Jeanette began. "You're certainly a lot perkier than either of us have seen you."

"That's her natural personality," Nico said, and Dani jerked, her eyes darting to Juliette. The girl had lied when she said her uncle wasn't there. Damn it. Dani wasn't ready to see him yet. "With a little extra sugar, I think."

"Nico!" Juliette cried, running out of the kitchen and jumping on him like she had at the club. "Don't be mad. Please? I was bored. And stir crazy. Where were you? Did you go grocery shopping without me like you threatened yesterday?"

He set her down, not looking at Dani or Jeanette. His eyes studied his niece for a long, uncomfortable moment while they all waited for his anger to erupt or something. "If you were bored, we could have handled that. Or you could have called before inviting someone over. I did not go shopping without you. I'd much rather you picked out what you're willing to eat."

"While you argue with me over _what _I eat."

"You don't want to know what's really in that junk you eat," Nico told her. "And don't think I didn't know you would do this."

"You bugged my phone, didn't you?" Juliette asked. "I knew it. You are such a control freak. I know I always say that, but it's true."

He looked at her. "I didn't have to bug your phone. Your behavior was entirely too predictable. Still, if I'd wanted to, I could have. I would have been able to alter things to make this meeting happen entirely on my terms."

"Two steps ahead and three to the left," Juliette muttered. "That's why we're here and not some crap hole where you probably go when you take off like this. You never were comfortable with all the money, were you?"

"I didn't grow up with it like you did," he said, almost in agreement. He looked toward the kitchen. "I think it might be time for Ms. Balzarini to take you someplace to 'distract' you while Doctor Santino and I have a conversation. Ms. Balzarini, I suggest that wherever you go, you make sure she doesn't have any more sugar. Or get close to any men."

Juliette glared at him for the last comment, and he pointedly ignored it, walking away into one of the other rooms in the penthouse. Jeanette gave Dani a look, and Dani shrugged. This wasn't what she'd planned on at all. She'd have to make it work somehow.

"What if we go to a movie, Control Freak? That safe enough by your standards? We'll have popcorn and watch some girly thing that you'd rather kill someone than see!" Juliette yelled after him, and Dani could tell that Nico's words had gotten to her. She sighed. "I want candy."

"You're replacing the addiction with sugar, aren't you?"

"And driving Nico absolutely nuts," Juliette agreed with a grin, grabbing a designer bag off the counter. "You in, Jeanette?"

Jeanette gave Dani a quick hug. "I know you're strong, and you're going to need it. Call me if you need us. We'll be back in a heartbeat, I swear."

Dani nodded. "I know. I can handle this."

_I hope._

* * *

><p>"So, you knew I was coming?"<p>

"You hadn't had your final say yet," Nico agreed, looking up from the tablet with amusement. Juliette had left an interesting message to complain about the blocks and "parental" controls he'd put in place on it to prevent her from seeing what she shouldn't. "Juliette likes you and enjoys defying me. It was a very predictable outcome."

"Yet you took her with you."

"I don't leave loose ends."

"Loose ends?" Santino asked. She shook her head. "Then what do you call us, if Juliette is a loose end?"

"A complication."

"Complication. Right. Situations. Loose ends. Complications," Santino shook her head. "I'm starting to get a handle on Nicospeak, but it still pisses me off."

"What really angers you is not my diction or vocabulary," Nico told her, setting the tablet down and crossing to her. "What bothers you is that I won't let you in."

She swallowed, clearly uncomfortable. "Why'd you do it, Nico? If you weren't willing to see this thing through, why the hell did you kiss me in the first place? This all started because of you. I mean... I don't know. The subtext was supposedly there before the reunion, or at least it was definitely there at the reunion according to Jeanette, and now... I don't know. I know we tried ignoring it. I know we talked about it. I still say that you took my hand first, and we both know that you kissed me."

"With your permission."

"That really doesn't change things. How do you go from holding my hand, kissing me, and letting me hold your phone hostage to shoving me away like you did?" she demanded, clearly hurt. She was doing her best to fight the tears, but they were there. "Damn it, Nico. I didn't just go through a divorce and Matt with Laura to have you do this to me. If you didn't want this, then you should have said so from the beginning."

"What I want and what I know is best are two separate things, Danielle," he told her, and she blinked, very close to crying. He did not like the pain he saw there or knowing that he was the cause of it. He reached out and touched her arm. "You know so very little about me. You don't... You haven't seen what I can do when I'm provoked. When I lose control. When I drink. What I did to your ex-husband was _nothing _compared to that. You call me reckless, say I don't care about what happens to me, but that's not it. I know all the variables, the choices I'm making, and I know the consequences even as I make them. That isn't enough to stop me half the time. The situation with TK and Juliette would never have gotten me that close to a loss of control if there wasn't an additional complication."

"Us, you mean."

He nodded reluctantly. "Us. I can't be the man you deserve, Danielle, and I can't be the one you fix. The more you push, the more likely I am to hurt you—and next time it might not be with words."

"You do not scare me. You terrify yourself, but you don't scare me," she insisted, looking up at him. "You know you don't want to do it, and you have a remarkable amount of self-control. And your past that you're so afraid of—the more you face and accept that, the less power it has to frighten you. I'm not saying you'll ever be comfortable with what some things that you've done, but you can find closure and peace for some of them."

"I have killed people."

"When you were in the Navy or after?"

Nico didn't want to answer that. Killing in military service was one thing. It was about protecting and serving his country. It was honorable. That was what they said. He didn't know that he'd ever believed it.

"Does this have to do with that gardener that Jeanette heard you and Juliette talking about?"

Nico turned away, walking to the glass doors to the balcony. "He was having an affair with my sister, and for some reason, that made him feel entitled to spread his lechery to my niece. He didn't get far. By some... luck, I guess, I was there that day. I don't even know why, but when I heard Juliette... It started with that same thing, twisting the man's arm up behind his back. It didn't end there. He never walked again."

"How old was she?"

"At the time? Twelve."

"Well, then good," Santino said, and Nico looked back at her. She shook her head. "I know that I shouldn't say that, but I have a fifteen year old daughter. I _was _a twelve year old girl myself. No one should have to... A creep like that deserves to be punished."

"Arguably, that's what the legal system is for."

"It hardly seems fair that a rapist gets years in jail when the victim, if they live, has the whole rest of their life to deal with what that person did to them. It doesn't go away overnight, doesn't end when the rapist is put in prison... You made sure that he never hurt anyone else."

"And the Pittman money made it all disappear. It's not like my sister even apologized for bringing that man into her daughter's life. She told Juliette to forget it ever happened. That's what she managed to do, forget everything."

"With your father, you mean?"

"Why do we always have to discuss my past?" Nico demanded. "I don't want to do this. You asked for my reasons for pushing you away. Fine. I told you—what I want and what's best are two separate things. I wanted more with you. I just... can't do it. Being with you pushes me too close to the edge. It wasn't something I was sure would happen until it did. That hostage situation... it was indication enough, but then we spoke in the car. You were right. I would have left you on the side of the road. Perhaps even done worse."

"But you didn't."

"That time. What about the next?" he asked, aware that she was coming close to him again. "I told Juliette I could control everything but myself. Everything I am seems to be a far more delicate balance than I realized if something can upset it like this so easily."

"Something? You mean a relationship?" Santino asked, touching his arm. "You mean... love? Isn't that the thing about love? That it comes along and changes everything in its path? It makes us better and puts us through hell. It has ups and downs. It's been called a rose. A razor. A hunger. A river. A battlefield. It hurts. It heals. It can be the best thing that ever happened to a person... or the worst."

"Shouldn't that make anyone question why they want it?"

"Because—and I'll paraphrase here, 'it feels so damn good when you're in it,'" Santino answered with a smile. "Right now, this minute, it might not feel good, but if you remember that first night, then it did. When we kiss, it does. When you're not pushing me away and we're not fighting... Even when we are fighting, I feel... alive. I feel challenged. I feel things with you that I never felt with Ray despite seventeen years and two kids. Things that I didn't feel with Matt despite some incredibly hot sex. Okay, I can tell that you don't want to hear that, but... it's a fact that I slept with him. Can't change. It's also a fact that I would sleep with you if we could get past this."

"Is it?"

She blushed. "Damn it, Nico. What is it you want from me? I can't deny my past history with men—and it isn't much of one. I don't know what your relationships have been like, but I basically had two men I cared about betray me. I know Matt and I weren't actually together when he got back with Laura, but... I guess I expected him to wait for me, as unfair as that was, and he didn't. Not once. Twice. Oh, sure, whatever that was with that Natalie woman from that party—it didn't last. Laura has. I didn't move on before, but with her... With her, I knew I had to. I almost fell back in with Ray because it was comfortable. We all make mistakes, and we all act out of fear. I'm not perfect, Nico. I'll drive you crazy trying to understand and over-analyzing everything, but I am still willing to try, which is more than I can say for you."

He moved away from her. "I've already told you, several times, that there are more reasons to stay apart than be together. Call it my fear of myself if you want to. Call me a coward if you want, but I _know _I will hurt you. One way or another, I will. Don't let me do that to you. Turn around now. Go."

"I am stronger than you think I am. If I wasn't, Nico, do you think I'd even _be _here now? If I wasn't strong, I would have taken my scumbag of a husband back. Or I'd be with Matt. Or I'd be dead somewhere because my husband cheated and my almost-boyfriend was almost enough to take up with at least two women in the short time I knew him. He's free to live his life, but I will never stop thinking that he should have waited, that we could have had something if he did."

"Go back to Donnally then. He's a safe choice. Other than being somewhat thickheaded, he's a decent man. Probably better than me."

"No," she objected immediately. "Damn, you are a stubborn man, but that has got to be the first time you actually sounded _stupid. _I can't go back to Matt. I am moving forward with my life—"

"I don't think that being involved with me is any improvement."

"Stop selling yourself so damn short, Nico! You do realize that you almost singlehandedly keep the Hawks going, don't you? They're all so thrown off by you taking a week off that they don't know what to do. It's really weird to be around there when you're not. And from what little I know of your past, I know you raised your sister when you were a child yourself after your mother abandoned you and your father was abusive drunk. You are an alcoholic, but you overcame that on your own, which is no small thing. You're the only one that has been there for your niece. You're loyal even when people don't deserve it, and you'd go to hell and back for the people you care about. Even TK has gotten past your walls. You wouldn't spare his feelings if you didn't care at least a little. If you can put up with him, then you're a far better man than most."

Nico shook his head. "I told you. I have a very thin line separating me from the man who can fix things and the monster I can be. That balance is too fragile to complicate."

"And I'm not going away, Nico. I'll still be working for the Hawks. You'll see me often. You'll drag players to see me. You'll send me on other errands for the Pittmans. What will you do every time you see me and can't be with me? Won't that break you even more than being with me?" she asked, and before he managed to respond, she kissed him, holding onto him even after he pulled away. _"That _is always going to be between us. This unresolved tension. The longing looks. The hurt looks. I think it hurts a lot more to be apart than it ever could to be together. I'm stronger than you think, damn it. You know you can't tell me this isn't what you want. Now you need to decide what the hell you want to do about it."


	27. A Metaphor

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,773  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Nico really, really wouldn't cooperate this chapter...

* * *

><p><strong>A Metaphor<strong>

"Well, Nico?" Dani asked, watching him. She couldn't help feeling nervous. She'd put it all on the line, and he hadn't answered. She'd said everything she could say—No, she hadn't said three specific words, but those were the words she knew that she _couldn't _say. She couldn't tell him that. That was bound to make him push her even further away. He was the same as his niece—he didn't see that anyone could love him, not Dani, not Juliette, not anyone from the team... He didn't realize that they already did, some of them all along.

"We should go."

Dani blinked. That was not something she'd expected. It wasn't like she was expecting any kind of direct answer, but he'd just said that _they _should go. Not her. Both of them. That didn't make any sort of sense. "Wait. Why? And where are we going?"

Nico glanced back toward his bedroom and then at her. "Because this conversation has a few predictable outcomes, at least one of which ends with the two of us taking a step that we will come to regret if it happens because we were angry and tense and backed into corners."

"You think... we'd just sleep together?" Dani asked, thinking it sounded a bit too much like a romance novel, them fighting and then ripping each other's clothes off and then jumping into bed together. Then again, she'd been thinking about it when they fought in front of TK.

Nico put a hand around her waist and kissed her. When she'd kissed him a minute ago, it seemed … flat. It lacked its usual pull because he basically just stood there. This time, though, he didn't stand there. He wanted it just as much as she did, and it was as all-consuming as it had been the first time. He let go and stepped back. "Yes. I do."

She nodded. "Okay, yeah, I think I have to agree."

He picked up his coat and grabbed his keys. "Again, if we wish to continue any kind of discussion, we should leave."

"Okay," Dani agreed almost numbly. She was numb and on fire and confused as hell all at the same time. She had a feeling that he was trying to keep them from falling into bed—not because they'd regret it, but because he still wanted to break this off. He wasn't going to sleep with her and then dump her. Though if he did... He would probably make her hate him for the rest of her life. "Where are we going?"

He didn't answer. She winced. She shouldn't let him do this, shouldn't follow. She should grab him, make him face her and give her the damn answer already.

"Nico, I am really not in the mood to let you do this. I need to have a clear answer. You need to make up your mind."

He just looked at her and stepped into the elevator. She sighed. Damn him. She could make the decision for him if she didn't follow. The answer would be no. But that was _her _answer, her putting words in his mouth. His answer hadn't really been given, and he was apparently going to make her work for it. She'd already done that, but he clearly wasn't done. He could be buying time. He could be taking her somewhere to drop her on the side of the road and leave her. He could be doing any number of things, and she didn't know what they were.

She joined him in the elevator. "You know, I should just walk away now, not let you lead me on whatever this is."

"That is your choice."

"I told _you _to make the choice. You know where I stand. I shouldn't have to keep chasing you. You owe me an answer."

He looked at her. "I told you why we should leave. This conversation clearly isn't finished, but it would not be possible to finish it back there. You are right that the tension hasn't gone away. It's ready to explode, perhaps even more so as we continue to have this back and forth. If we followed that, if we let the tension run its course, then we would both end up angry... and guilty."

She found herself laughing. "You and letting that tension run its course. So romantic."

He gave her a slight smile. "Romantic is not a quality you'd expect from me, is it?"

"You can kiss better than any man I know."

"Hmm. Since you've been entirely too forthcoming with details in that respect, I don't find that much of an endorsement," Nico said as the elevator stopped on the ground floor. She glared at his back as he left, and she followed him, annoyed.

"What, have you been with lots and lots of women? Am I lacking in comparison with them?"

He held the lobby door open for her. "I would not phrase it as lots and lots. Nor are you lacking in any respect."

She found herself smiling. She shouldn't. Damn it, why was it that he could do this to her? She should be angry with him. "Really?"

"Though I know you will form a judgment when you hear this... My previous relationships have been based on little more than a mutual satisfaction of needs. As long as the physical was taken care of, little else mattered."

Dani winced. "Nico, were you... paying for this?"

"No. My previous partners and I agreed upon having no desire for emotional attachment. And, no, they were not married, either. I could have fallen in love with a married woman as easily as any of the others, and that was not a boundary I cared to cross. I suppose some of them could have lied. It was—one thing we all had in common was a job we placed before anything else. We recognized a physical need and handled it. It may seem... unthinkable to you, robotic and cold, and to a degree, it was. However, it was an acceptable and mutually beneficial arrangement for me and the women in question."

Dani really didn't know what to think about that. She shook her head. "What about your marriage? You said you were married once?"

"Only long enough to know it was a mistake," he said, hitting the button to unlock his car as he got close to the driver's seat.

"Nico, did you love her?"

He lowered his head. "I don't know that I'm capable of that, Danielle."

* * *

><p>Nico stopped the car in front of the house and got out, taking out the second set of keys, one he didn't normally carry with him. Santino had been quiet for most of the drive, apparently unable to find any words to counter the last statement that he'd made. He found it surprising. She should have told him that he was capable of it, that she believed he was—that she wanted to believe that he loved her. She was silent. Perhaps she did not believe it—any of it.<p>

"What is this place?"

Nico looked at her. "You heard Juliette's accusation."

"That you don't go to the penthouse. That there's some crap hole you go to instead, you mean?"

Nico opened the gate and passed through the chain-link fence. The yard had long since dried up and disappeared, leaving little more than dirt and a few weeds. The porch creaked under his weight, and he figured that it was probably rotted. "Watch your step."

"Is this where you usually go when you come here?"

He unlocked the padlock on the door, then the regular lock, pushing it open. "I don't usually take a week when I need to... ground myself. The week was because of Juliette. The majority of the time, no one even knows that I've gone."

"Why here?"

"I own this house. The penthouse is one of the Pittman holdings, and it is where my sister stays should she be willing to go anywhere near her past again. That is rare enough. She likes to believe that her money has put it all behind her, even if it means forgetting family."

"I thought you were from Pittsburgh. This isn't Pittsburgh."

"Pittsburgh is where I am from. It is not the only place that I have been," Nico said, walking through the empty rooms. She followed him, looking nervous. He held out a hand to her. "There is nothing here to be scared of. Nothing here at all, to be honest."

She took his hand and stood as close to him as she could. "Why do you keep an empty house? You could... fix this up and rent it out or sell it..?"

He shook his head. "If I did that, I'd never have the chance to burn it down, if I so desired."

"Nico," she began, her voice twinged with fear, her eyes upon him. "What happened here?"

He couldn't answer that. It was not something that could be explained, not truly. The memories were here, and he could try to explain them, but they were all just small parts of a larger picture that he couldn't explain without every single detail, and they didn't have the time for that. "It is enough to say that this is where things... changed. Decisions were made. I was here when I chose to join the Navy. After that... my life course shifted. When I lose my way, I remember what brought me to that decision."

"Is this where you go when you leave Juliette in the afternoon?"

"You asked me what I wanted to do about this. About us," he began, reaching out to touch the peeling wallpaper.

"You came here... to make a decision?"

"If this was the place where all decisions were made, then nothing would ever get done," Nico disagreed, moving away from the wall again. It was difficult to explain his connection here or what it really meant to him. He wasn't willing to let that out. He didn't know how to tell anyone. Even his sister, who had been here at the same time, she didn't know all of the details. "I can't give you what you should have, Danielle. This house... It is a lot like me."

"You mean... abandoned and neglected, locked up, windows boarded? Yeah, I can see the comparison, Nico, but you know what?" she reached into his pocket and lifted out the key ring he'd used earlier. "You have the keys. You're the one that can open the doors and take the boards off the windows. You can stop neglecting yourself for everyone else. And I am not going to abandon you."

He lifted her hand and ran his fingers over it. "You should."

"I already told you that won't work, Nico. You have to make up your mind here. Yes or no. I am not going to make your choice for you. I won't let you push me away. I will respect your decision, though. You said you wanted it. You want us. It feels like you do when we kiss. Still... you have to make up your mind."

He touched her face. She didn't have any idea the kind of temptation she posed. If she did, she probably would be pleased. "I could hurt you. I don't mean... emotionally. I've already done that. I mean that I could really hurt you, make it impossible for you to come back to me. You're too strong to be my punching bag, Danielle. You think I won't hurt you physically so it isn't an issue. If that was what it took to keep you safe, you know I would. You took a stand against what Santino did to you. What I did was not much better."

"You pulled away because you're afraid you'll hurt me. Ray _did _hurt me and then tried to pretend it was nothing. That is completely different," she insisted. She looked around at the house again. "You're never going to burn this place down or fix it. You're waiting for it to collapse in on itself. Eventually, it'll probably happen. Let it happen to the house, Nico. Not to you. Please."

Nico ran his fingers over her cheek. "I don't deserve any of what you're offering me."

"Sure you do."

He shook his head, turning away from her. "I feel like I should tell you that this is where the bodies are buried. That I did something... unspeakable here."

"You're still trying to push me away. I told you that I wouldn't let you. You have to tell me, Nico. It's not that hard. A yes... or a no."

"It's not that simple."

"Yes, it is," she tried to tell him, and he shook his head. It was far more complicated than she knew.

"We should go."

"What? Again? Nico—"

"It doesn't take long before this place gets to me," he interrupted, walking toward the door. "It feels like it's time to burn it. It always does."

She followed him back onto the porch. He had to wait, had to lock the house back up. There was nothing worth stealing, nothing to protect, but the building was a death trap, bound to come apart at any time. He locked the door and put the metal bracket back in place, putting the padlock back on it.

She took a step toward him. "Nico, what would happen if you—"

The board she'd stepped on collapsed underneath her, and he reached out to catch her. He was able to keep her from falling over, but her foot had disappeared under the wood. She cried out, and he figured she had probably injured her ankle. "Easy. The more you struggle, the more you'll twist it. Your shoes are extremely impractical. I shouldn't have brought you here."

"Stop blaming yourself and help me get my ankle out," she ordered. He tested the other boards around her, finding a place where he could help her sit until they got her leg free—hopefully without any further injury. The wood could have cut her, splintered off and gone under her skin. He examined the hole carefully. "I know you're paranoid and all, but it went straight down, it can come straight up."

"Unlikely. The wood didn't fracture evenly, and judging from the sound you made when you fell, you twisted it. Don't move," Nico told her. He broke off more of the board, setting it aside as he reached into the expanded opening. "I am going to take your shoe off first. The heel is only going to cause a problem. It's too likely to catch on something."

"Fine, just get me—ow. Nico!"

"Sometimes when a shoe is compressing the nerves, you feel it more after the shoe is removed," he reminded her. He hadn't actually hurt her. "I'm going to stand up and pull you out again. Try and keep your leg straight and watch your foot."

"Like I wouldn't."

"You could try yanking it out of the hole on your own, if you like. I think it's likely to hurt more if you do, but if you don't want my help—"

"Just get me out. Please."

He walked around behind her, lifting her up under her arms, moving back after her foot was out of the hole. His back hit the side of the house, and it gave a noise like some kind of pathetic groan. He looked up at it. The structure had always seemed mockingly sound, and the roof should have come down first, or the floorboards when they were walking inside, but he did not like the look of it. "We need to get off this porch."

"I have a bad ankle, and now I'm missing a shoe," she grumbled, and he caught her before she could go for the shoe. "Nico—"

"I should have known, but I've never wanted to know how bad of shape this house was in. We have to get off the porch before the whole thing comes down on us," he insisted, looking at the roof of the porch again. He pushed her forward as it started to come down on them.


	28. An Answer

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,033  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Okay... I think I may finally be on my way to reclaiming this fic and getting it back on track. Of course, I say that, and some random house is going to get me next time...

* * *

><p><strong>An Answer<strong>

"Easy, Sweetie," Jeanette said as Dani's eyes opened, brushing back some hair from her face. "You kind of gave us a good scare there."

"I don't..." Dani frowned. Her head ached, and the more she woke up, the more she could feel a throbbing down by her foot. Her ankle. Her ankle was—what, twisted? Broken? She didn't remember. She didn't understand. This was definitely a hospital. White walls, the bed, the whole thing. "What happened?"

"Well, from what I understand, for some reason the two of you were at some house that should have been condemned years ago, and when you were on the porch, it collapsed. The roof fell, and when it did, it took the rest of it with it," Jeanette said. "Or so the very adorable EMT told Juliette. I swear, that girl missed her calling, Dani. She should be an actress."

Dani smiled a little and tried to sit up. Jeanette pushed on her shoulder gently, but it was enough to make Dani wince. "Stay put. They said you got pretty banged up, and you're bruised all over the place."

"I think I feel it," Dani agreed. Her head was starting to clear a bit—it still ached, but it was clearing. "My ankle got stuck, and Nico tried to get me out. Wait—Where's Nico?"

"He has a bed of his own," Jeanette said. She pushed on Dani's shoulder again. "Easy. You really need to stay put. He is going to be okay. He got banged up, just like you—"

"But his stitches—"

"Dani, please, you have to stay calm. Juliette is with him," Jeanette told her. Dani wanted out of this bed. She wanted out right now. She didn't care about her ankle. She needed to see Nico for herself. She _had _to see him, now. "Honey, you're not going anywhere on that ankle, and I have half a mind to let you try to stand on it only to fall on your stubborn butt."

"Jeanette—"

"Okay, okay, here's the full story, as much as we got. Like I said, the roof came down and the rest of the porch went down after it. It looked like he tried to get the two of you out of there, but when the lower part collapsed, the support beam came down on him. If you want to hear something romantic... Well, he covered you with his body to protect you."

Dani smiled a little. Then she shook her head. "And yet he still can't admit that he's a good person or that he wants to be with me."

Jeanette gave her a slight smile, patting her cheek. "Only you. Only you would go to some condemned house and only you would get caught when the porch collapses."

"Nico said we had to leave because if we didn't—you know what, that doesn't matter. What does matter is that, in his way, Nico opened up when he showed me that house. He showed me a lot more than I think he realizes. He can't let go of me even as much as he's trying to pull away and push me away... He can't."

"It's so romantic."

Dani frowned at her. "Okay, what did you and Juliette go see while Nico and I were talking?"

"I'll show you later. We'll drink, we'll cry, and I'll hit you because you have a man that wonderful," Jeanette said. She smiled. "The good news is that they'll probably spring you as soon as they know you're awake. The bad news... he's in at least for the night."

"What happened, Jeanette? What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing. He hasn't woken up, that's all. Here, sweetie, I'll get the doctor and let you talk him into getting you out of here," Jeanette promised, rushing out the door.

Dani leaned back against the pillows and sighed. Jeanette was right about one thing. This kind of thing only happened to them. She shook her head. She didn't want to wait for her doctor, though she knew Jeanette was also right about her ankle. She couldn't get anywhere on it. Wait, she hadn't even asked Jeanette about the kids. They were supposed to be at their father's, but had they heard about this? How long had she been in the hospital, anyway?

"Ms. Santino?"

Dani looked over at the doctor as he came in the room. Jeanette had a wide grin, and Dani felt like rolling her eyes. It wasn't that the man wasn't good looking. He was. Dani just had no interest in looking, not like Jeanette. Jeanette never seemed to stop. Dani was—apparently—a one-man woman. All she cared about was Nico. "I just want to get out of this bed and see Nico. What is it going to take to get that?"

"I think I can get you out after a short examination, but you're going to need to stay off that ankle," he told her, and she groaned. She really didn't need that, especially since she spent most of her time chasing after Nico these days. He was still in his own bed, though, so maybe it would slow him down for a while.

"Fine. I just want out of here."

* * *

><p>"Dani, you're a mess," Juliette began as she got up from the chair next to the bed. "I'm surprised they let you out."<p>

"Oh, the doctor says I'm really just bruised everywhere, other than my ankle," Dani said, though Jeanette had turned the wheelchair that was supposed to be taking her out the front door and taken it three floors up instead, up to the ICU—nice of everyone to keep _that _detail from her—instead. She was sore, and she was feeling more pain the longer she was awake, but at least she was here. "I don't think I look as bad as he does, though."

"Don't worry about it. Uncle Nico has a very hard head," Juliette said, pulling the chair closer to the bed. "So... You guys went to Great Uncle Nick's place, huh? I think that place is creepy. It was bound to fall down one of these days."

"Great Uncle Nick?"

"Yeah. About as creepy as his house. Nico hated him. But he got his house after the old guy died. I don't know why. I really don't know why Nico kept it, either," Juliette answered with a shrug. She fidgeted in her chair, and Dani frowned at her. She saw the look. "Okay, it's so time for me to go get that stuff the doctor gave me. Only... Nico has it locked up somewhere, and I don't know where it is. I couldn't get in if I did. He's that paranoid. Of course, he knows me."

"Well, I'm sure we can get something here if your uncle doesn't wake up soon—"

"Excuse me, what are you doing in here? This is the ICU. Visitation is restricted," a nurse said, coming into the room. "Family only."

Juliette shot the nurse a dirty look. "This is my aunt. His wife? Yeah, she's not going anywhere. She just got released, so now she'll be at his side. I guess her sister doesn't technically count as family, but you should let her stay, too."

The nurse looked at Dani suspiciously. "You're his wife?"

"Are you expecting me to yank a marriage license out of my purse now?" Dani demanded. "I don't even have my purse. I left it in the car when we went to the house. How did anyone know to contact you, Jeanette?"

Juliette smiled. "Chalk that one up to his paranoia again."

Dani decided not to ask. She watched the nurse leave, still not appeased. Juliette and Jeanette started giggling, and Dani sighed. "She is going to come back. And she's going to throw us all out when she confirms that I'm not his wife and Jeanette's not my sister. Before that happens, you need to get your medication. I know that Nico has it locked up, so we won't bother with that. Just call the doctor you saw and get him to give you a short term prescription—two, three days worth at the most would be best but if he can't, then a week. Just long enough to give your uncle a chance to wake up and tell someone where he put the full one. Jeanette, if the doctor is giving Juliette any trouble—"

"I'll handle it, I swear," Jeanette said, saluting her. She took Juliette's arm, leading her toward the door. Half the time, Dani thought she'd made a mistake in introducing her best friend to Nico's troubled niece, and the other half... She thought she couldn't have made a better choice. "Come on. We'll get Dani something to change into, too."

Dani leaned over in the chair, forcing the rail on the side of the bed down out of her way. She reached over to brush the hair back from Nico's bruised forehead. "You know, you're not supposed to get injured like this. Ruins the whole mystique. You're like... invulnerable or something. And you scare the crap out of me, and I hate that. And we were fighting right before this happened, and... I am so sick of fighting. Why can't you stop being stubborn and admit that you care? And so help me, Nico, if you're in here because you tore those damn stitches, I _am _going to kill you."

She laughed a little as the tears started. She took his hand and wrapped hers around it as she put her head on the bed. "It's really been one hell of a week, hasn't it? You know, I never thought that TK would be more willing to make a commitment than you are, and yet he pretty much adopted Cherise and Devin. He's not dating her, but he's providing for her and Devin... I guess you're doing that for Juliette. I shouldn't complain. I just wish I'd gotten an answer from you before I fell through that damn porch."

She sighed, realizing that the entire time she'd been rambling on to him, she'd actually expected him to answer her, like he was faking or something. She shook her head a little. "I guess it's okay if I say all of this to you. They say sometimes people hear—or was that just with comas? It doesn't matter. You're going to wake up, and then you have no more time, no more excuses. You have to give me an answer."

* * *

><p>"No, I'm telling you, I want the whole thing razed. Clearly it should have been condemned a long time ago, and it's a death trap now. I don't want anyone getting injured. What would it matter if they were crackheads? I don't even understand why you're fighting me on this. You haven't set foot in that house since you were fifteen and he—"<p>

"Nico! If you finish that sentence, I'll make sure no construction crew touches that site."

"Don't start with that, Gabriella," he warned, reaching a hand to his back. He'd disconnected himself from the morphine drip as soon as he woke, and his body wasn't happy with that, but he knew he couldn't continue on the drugs. "The company has a construction and demolition division, and I expect that house down today. End of story."

He hung up on his sister and had to resist the urge to throw his phone. It was never simple with her. He didn't know how she'd gotten wind of the request or why she felt the need to try and block it, but it wasn't going to happen. Someone had been hurt there, again, and he was not going to let that happen to anyone else.

"Nico? What the hell are you doing out of bed?"

Nico looked over at Santino in the chair and shrugged. It sent a wave of pain down his back, but he forced himself not to react to it. "I got hit with a support beam, and they were worried about the bruising on my back. It's nothing. They monitored my kidney functions the entire time, and there's no sign of damage there. I'm fine."

"And who told you all that?"

"The chart."

"I thought you said you're not a doctor."

"I'm not. I did teach myself how to read them since I have come across them several times in my job," Nico explained. He hesitated for a moment and then decided it was best to deal with this particular subject quickly. "I hear you became my wife while I was unconscious."

She winced. "Juliette told them I was when they tried to say you could only have family visitors."

"So you moved your ring from your middle finger to your ring finger?"

"There was a very, very suspicious nurse hanging around. I think she wanted to see a license. I wonder how she accepted that Juliette was your niece. It's not like she looks that much like you," Santino told him. "I guess your plan is to sign yourself out AMA and leave as soon as you can, right?"

"I have no fondness for hospitals, and I don't need treatment. I'm—"

"You're not fine, Nico," she interrupted. She would have gotten up and been right in his face if she could stand. "And I have waited way too long for that answer. I can't really wait any longer because next thing you know that kidney damage will be there and you'll be pulled into surgery or another freaking porch will collapse on us. Just... tell me. We can go our separate ways from here if that's what you really want. I just want a damn answer."

He knew that she deserved one, that it was far past time that she had it. He had more he could tell her, more arguments against it, but she had already made up her mind. Nothing he could say would change it at this point. She wanted too much to believe in the good in him, that he was better than he appeared, and even if he gave her the full lists of his sins, she'd still believe that some part of him was worth saving. She had done the same with TK when everyone else said he was a lost cause. Nico knew the situation was different—she seemed to have adopted TK as a son and Nico as something... else.

He was still preparing his answer when someone spoke from behind him. "Mr. Careles! You're not supposed to be out of bed! How long have you been awake? Get back in that bed now."

"Oh, god, it _is _a conspiracy," Santino muttered. "There's Ray and Rudy and TK and Juliette and hostages and a freaking killer porch and I'm just never going to get an answer. Maybe I should consider this answer enough. The whole world is against it, so it's just over, right? Simple enough. No more agonizing over it and—"

"Danielle," he began, holding up a hand to the nurse who had taken a step toward him to push him toward the bed. That was not going to happen. "You, nurse, stay where you are. And you, Danielle, will have your answer. Before there are any more interruptions or malevolent houses or any other part of this so-called conspiracy to interfere again."

"Oh, damn," she said, swallowing. "Um... I think I—Oh, I really don't know if I'm ready to hear this, after all of that ranting and babbling. No, don't tell me, Nico. I don't think I can take it."

He had to fight a smile. "I thought you were stronger than that."

"I did, too," she admitted quietly. "But if the answer is no, I... I really don't know what I'll do, at least not at first. Pull through, eventually, but the first part is the hardest, and that's the fear that's talking now."

"You're a strong woman," he reminded her, stepping close to her. He lowered himself to the chair's level, and his whole body protested, though his back was the loudest. "Actually, I think you're more like a force of nature. Perhaps a tornado, given what happened to the house."

She made a face. "For a second there, I thought you were going to make me the wicked witch or something. You know, since the house kind of fell on me."

"It was just the porch, and it fell on both of us," he reminded her. She shrugged. He smiled. "Besides, you're more like Dorothy."

"And I was going to call you the wizard, but that makes it kind of creepy, you and me..."

"Hmm. You're not supposed to pay any attention to the man behind the curtain."

"How could anyone ignore you, Nico?" she asked, and he gave her a look. He was overlooked all the time in the course of his job. It allowed him to do what he had to do. "I thought you said I was getting an answer."

"I know. I just choose my words carefully."

"Right, and so—"

He put his hands on her face and interrupted her with a kiss. She half-rose from the chair, forgetting her ankle, and he had to push her back before she put too much weight on it. His back didn't like the position he'd put it in, and he had to let her go to relieve the pain a little. She touched her fingers to her lips.

"I think I might need... interpretation there."

He frowned at her. There were some things, he had always believed, that were better when they were not spoken at all. "Really?"

She shook her head. "No. I just want you to kiss me again."


	29. A Complication

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,156  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I was wrong. I don't think I managed to do half of what I was supposed to with this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>A Complication<strong>

"That is it. Pull the car over and let me out."

"Maybe we should have given you drugs."

"I don't need drugs. I just need you to drive like you're paying even _half _the attention to the road that you should be," Nico said, trying to find a comfortable position in the back seat of the car. When he'd reluctantly agreed to let one of the others drive, he'd opted for Balzarini since she'd had her license longer and he had previous experience with Juliette's driving—he had actually _taught _her to drive, though she'd clearly forgotten everything he taught her—but clearly that was a mistake.

"Grumpy much?" Balzarini asked, and Nico glared up at the front seat. Santino laughed, taking his hand again. She smiled at him, but he couldn't manage one in return. "Really, the drugs would have knocked you out for the whole trip."

"I'm an alcoholic. No drugs," he snapped. "Eyes on the road."

"You should have let me drive, Nico," Juliette said, turning around in her seat. She wasn't wearing the seat belt. His eyes narrowed at her, and she smirked, challenging him. "I'm not really that bad."

"Speaking as the man who taught you to drive, I disagree," Nico said, touching his back with a wince. The cut had been a minor nuisance, but the bruising was severe. He was tempted by the drugs, but he knew that path and it had to be avoided. At the most, he might try an over-the-counter pain killer, but he knew that was useless as well. "Seat belt. If I have to reach up there and put it on for you, you will regret it."

"Probably not as much as you will," Balzarini observed, and Nico shot her another dark look. Juliette caught it and shook her head, buckling the seat belt.

"That's pretty close to the pushed-too-far look," Juliette explained. "Poor baby. You must be in a lot of pain, huh?"

_Uncle Nick got his final say, _Nico thought darkly. "I have actually had worse and complained less, but then I wasn't in the back seat of a car driven by a madwoman at the time."

"Hey!" Balzarini protested.

"Were you unconscious at the time?" Juliette asked.

"It's not the driving or the pain that's really bothering him," Santino said, looking over at him. "It's not being behind the wheel, not being in control."

"I told you before, if you continue to treat me like a patient—"

She leaned over and kissed him. It was a sufficient distraction, and one she seemed inclined to use often, at least now. He was not opposed to it, since it _did _distract him from the pain, at least temporarily. "You are _not _my patient. I'm just... nosy and observant and..."

She trailed off as she kissed him again. Juliette giggled in the front seat. "They need a room again."

"They need a _week _in a room, sweetheart, but since they had the bad sense to get themselves injured, I guess they're stuck with a few kisses."

"I'm surprised you think so, Ms. Balzarini. I would have expected you to think more creatively."

The car swerved, and Balzarini swore. Nico hit the door, and new pain seemed to flare up everywhere. He knew that he'd been hit several times by the assorted debris when the roof came down and further injured when the floor caved in, all before the support beam fell.

Juliette held onto the handle above the door. "We're all gonna die!"

"Don't be overdramatic."

"Oh, come on, Uncle Nico," Juliette twisted herself backward, looking up at him. "It was a joke. You need to lighten up."

Nico glanced at Santino and back at his niece. She grinned. "Okay, okay, I take your point. Try and be at least a _little _less of a stick-in-the-mud. For Dani? She deserves someone who cracks a smile more than once a month."

He considered making a comment on her habits—the drugs or the men—but he buried it. Though he still had some doubts about Juliette's determination to turn her life around, he knew that his reproach and censure would not help her to do it. It would only turn her against him again, and she could very well extend that to Danielle and Balzarini, both of whom seemed to help stabilize Juliette more than she had been in a very long time. It was not a perfect arrangement, but he would rather trust her care to Santino—even if she was not acting as Juliette's therapist—than anyone else.

"He does smile more than once a month, when he's with me—and he smiles at you, too, Juliette," Danielle said. He could tell that she wanted to put her head on his shoulder, but her concern for his injuries held her back.

He pulled her close to him, up into his lap, making sure that her leg was up. "You do realize you're supposed to be elevating that ankle, don't you?"

"You are too black and blue to be a pillow right now."

"I know my limits. Don't move."

"I don't want to," she said quietly. "Even though I should because you are really going to regret this later."

_Maybe I already do, _he thought, but he said nothing as he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. They should both try and get some rest before they got back to New York.

* * *

><p>"Home," Dani muttered, looking up at her house and shaking her head. It wasn't that it wasn't good to be here. It was. She was looking forward to her own bed—though her stairs were going to be a problem. Getting in the front door was going to be a problem.<p>

She turned as her door opened and frowned as TK gave her a wider smile that fell as he got a better look at her. "Yo, Doctor D, what happened to you?"

She forced a smile. "A porch. Don't ask. It's kind of a long story. What are you doing here, TK?"

"I'm here to carry whatever needs carrying. That's what I do."

"Carried?" Dani asked. She looked around for a moment. "What, _me?_ I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Nico told her, and she turned to stick her tongue out at him. He shrugged and got out of the car. TK caught sight of him in the light and whistled.

"Damn, Nico, you look worse than the doc. What happened?"

"Suffice to say that... the past came crumbling down," Nico answered, wincing as he stretched a bit. She wanted to go to him, but she couldn't. He looked back at TK. "Where is Devin?"

"He wanted to be with his moms at the hospital," TK shrugged. "Can't blame him. He thought I'd be moving boxes or something. He might have felt differently if he knew I was coming to the fun house. Yeah, he likes it here. Likes Jaybird. I like the company."

TK winked at Jeanette, who smiled saucily despite getting the doctor's number. Nico shot him a look as TK started checking out Juliette. "I'll tell you the same thing I told the Santino boy. That is my niece. Watch your eyes."

Juliette giggled as TK's eyes got wide, and she kissed Nico on a part of his face that wasn't bruised. He frowned at her, and she just laughed harder. TK pulled himself together and smiled. "You're looking good, Julie. Haven't seen you in a while."

"Got cut off. Got really messed up. Nico had to bail me out, and Dani's been helping me."

"Dani? She gets to call you Dani?" TK demanded, hurt. He turned to Dani, accusation in his eyes. He'd never called her Dr. Santino like he should, and Doctor D was close enough, but apparently it was not enough for the receiver.

Dani sighed. "It's different. I'm dating her uncle. I'm not her therapist. I thought you were here to carry me in, and it's past time we take this conversation inside."

"Dating, huh?" TK asked, picking Dani up. Dani watched Nico for a reaction, but if he was regretting that he couldn't carry her, he didn't let it show. "You know, that wasn't what I heard. I mean, it's been kind of crazy around the stadium, rumors going everywhere... Now, I kind of thought you two had done the big break up, but then we start hearing that you two ran off and got married."

"Damn it, Juliette," Nico said, turning to his niece. She bit her lip. "The hospital was one thing, but if you perpetuated that rumor beyond those walls—"

"That was me," Jeanette said, holding up her phone. Dani looked at her in horror, and she shrugged. "I took a picture when you were sleeping on the side of his hospital bed. It was cute. And I said I'd add it to facebook, and nosy nurse wanted to see it, so I put a caption on it that said you two were married, and my facebook is linked to my twitter, so..."

"So everyone has seen this picture of us," Nico said, and Jeanette flinched at the tone of his voice. She held her ground for a moment before ducking behind Juliette. Juliette looked at her and shook her head, moving out of Nico's line of fire. "That explains the fight I had with my sister. Excuse me. I have some damage control to do."

"Nico," Dani called, and he turned back to look at her. She couldn't think of anything to say, though, and so she just sighed instead. He came back and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "Don't hurt anyone. Including yourself."

"Like he could," Jeanette scoffed as Nico walked away slowly.

Dani smiled at Jeanette. After that car ride, it would seem like Nico was in a lot of pain, too much to hurt anyone else, but what Jeanette didn't realize was that Nico was constantly in pain. He hid it better than most, and most of it wasn't physical, but he was a very strong man who knew how to go beyond the pain—and had done so almost every day of his life. "Actually, I think he could."

"Gotta say, my money would be on Nico, too," TK agreed. "Especially if anything happened to the doc here."

She smiled a little. "Would you put me down on the couch please, TK?"

"Sure thing Doctor D," TK said, taking her into the living room and setting her down so that she took up most of the couch. Jeanette went to put a pillow under her ankle.

"Do you have any Kool-aid?" Juliette asked. "I'll make some."

She ran out of the room, and Dani groaned. "That is going to end up being pure sugar."

Jeanette looked after her and back at Dani. "I think I'm going to go make sure she doesn't destroy your kitchen in her latest sugar rush."

* * *

><p>"So," Dani called as Nico reentered the room. She hated being stuck in one place. Juliette, Jeanette, and TK had all left her alone, and she'd gotten really bored waiting for someone to come back. She had half a mind to get up and get herself something to read or at least the tv remote, but she hadn't. Yet. "How bad is the damage?"<p>

He walked over and sat down in the chair next to the couch with a sigh. "It would seem that—rather than noticing that either of us were injured in said photograph—everyone is now convinced of the idea of our marriage."

"Everyone," she repeated with a frown. "By which you mean... your sister and brother-in-law?"

Nico gave her a patronizing smile and handed her his tablet. "All of your patients, the entire Hawks team, and the stadium staff. The other parents at your children's school. Even your ex-husband, who should know better since your divorce has not actually been finalized."

Dani's mouth fell open, and she looked over the message board. There were more responses than she could read on a single page, most of them congratulations followed by a _why weren't we invited? _She pushed the button for the next page and shook her head. "I don't... How does that picture suggest that we're... married, other than the caption?"

He shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. It may be that the angle of it shows little of the rest of the room—just our faces lying close to each other's—and you have my hand in yours, but otherwise... I fail to see it as well."

"I mean, if there was a wedding dress and a tux or even just a dress and a suit, maybe. We could have fallen asleep anywhere for all they know," Dani said, shaking her head in frustration. "The funniest part of all of this—and funny isn't really the word for it—is that you hadn't even told me that you wanted to do this then."

"Most of it will blow over. The team can be addressed all at once, and you can have the discussion with your patients, but I think the most important part now is clarifying things with your children. That is probably best done in person, and they are on their way. In the meantime, I recommend calling your lawyer. "

Dani put a hand to her head. "Oh, damn. This is going to be bad."

"Not necessarily. And if need be, you can fire that one and use the ones from the team. No, they don't usually handle divorces, but they have enough flexibility to see the last part through," Nico told her, then closed his eyes as he put his head back against the chair.

"You okay?"

"Sore. Tired. Not used to this level of scrutiny."

"What did your sister say when you called to clarify things?"

Nico rose from his chair, and Dani frowned, looking at him worriedly. She hated that she'd managed to hurt herself so that she couldn't walk on her own. It was the worst possible thing for someone with a significant other who tended to walk away a lot. "Nico, please, it's not fair for you to take off and leave because I can't follow you."

He stopped at the door and looked back at her. He put a hand on the door frame and studied it for a moment. "My sister's ever so helpful suggestion was that I fix the situation by actually marrying you."

Dani choked on that one. "Okay, it has been, what, a week since my reunion? I think I missed a day or so in there after the porch, but... still... a little over a week that we've been doing this odd dance around how we feel and being attracted to each other and being together but not and... I'm not even officially divorced. We can't just get married like that."

"Her other solution was terminating your employment with the Hawks."

Dani struggled to find words again. "Does she actually mean that, Nico? Can she do that? I mean, I don't know how the balance of power works with you, her husband, and her. Does she have the direct authority to fire me? I know I can bring a wrongful termination suit against the Hawks if she does—"

"I assured her that neither were options. She was less than pleased, but she tends to be... more words than actions," he explained. "Don't let Gabriella bother you, Danielle. She's... flightier than her daughter, with half the common sense and a bigger mouth."

Dani forced a smile. "It might be easy for you to say that, but... working for the Hawks allows me to keep my house."

"You forget. No one gets to you except through me," he reminded her, and she looked at him. He gave her a smile. "I'm not saying you can't fight your own battles or that I'd try and stop you. However... You have been officially connected to me, meaning that some people will simply... avoid confronting you because they know that I will be nearby."

"Oh, so this has its advantages, does it?"

"You went into this without any? How truly selfless of you."

She stuck her tongue out at him. He seemed to provoke that from her a lot. "Of course not. I like the way you kiss. I am drawn into the mystery. I even like fighting with you... sometimes. I like the challenge."

"I still say the disadvantages of being with me outweigh the advantages, but you decided otherwise."

"I did," she agreed. "I haven't changed my mind, either."

"You can't walk because I took you to a house that should have been condemned years ago."

She remembered hearing part of his phone conversation earlier. "Did you have it torn down? Is it... gone?"

"I ordered it done. I don't know if it has been yet."

"You're okay with letting it go?"

"It was past time. That place is dangerous."

"Yes, but you went there to ground yourself. To make tough decisions. To remember," she said, taking a deep breath. "It was a big part of who you are, all symbolism aside."

"It's gone. And I don't care how fair it is, if you analyze me, I'm going to leave you where you are without a book and taking the remote so you'll just have to sit there and be bored while you can't walk," he threatened, and she made a face.

"I'm not trying to analyze you. I was just asking how you felt," she said, feeling a bit defensive. It didn't help that she couldn't move. "I want crutches. Now. And you said the kids were on their way."

He nodded. "You should probably expect them any minute."

She looked at her hands. "I don't know if I want you to stay or not. For that conversation, I mean. I want you to stay. Now. Here. I wish you'd come back where I could touch you. I want to be near you. Quit looking at me like that. I'd drag you back if I could."

He walked over to her, that same half-smile on his face. She amused him, didn't she? She reached over and took his hand. "Nico, I—"

"Mom! Tell us that you did _not _get married again!"


	30. A Set Back

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,857  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I still didn't get to part of what I meant to do. And I was expecting funny, too, but it didn't really work out that way...

* * *

><p><strong>A Set Back<strong>

"I'm not married to Nico."

Lindsay folded her arms over her chest, pissed. "Then what was that photo? That Jeanette posted all over the internet? You know, if it had been something else, then maybe it wouldn't have seemed so... but you... Tell her, Ray Jay."

Ray Jay frowned. "Well... it was really uncomfortable to have a bunch of people from school congratulating us on our mom's new marriage while we were at Dad's house and he got pretty upset and started talking about how your new husband is a psychopath, but I kind of figured it couldn't happen because you would have told us, and I tried to tell Lindsay that, but she's been freaking out ever since _Winter _told everyone she didn't get to be a bridesmaid."

Dani sighed, tightening her grip on Nico's hand. "The divorce isn't final yet. I can't get married. That was just a—When we were in the hospital—that's kind of a long story—the nurse wanted to kick me and Jeanette out of Nico's room so Juliette told them that I was his wife. Jeanette took a picture while we were both asleep—"

"I was unconscious," Nico corrected, and Dani rolled her eyes at him. He shrugged. "You were the one holding my hand, not the other way around."

"Nico—"

They all turned when they heard a crash like glass breaking, and she winced. Nico leaned down and kissed her forehead. "That was probably my niece. I'll handle it."

Dani nodded, though after he'd left she realized that Jeanette or TK should have been there to handle whatever it was that got broken. Sneaky bastard. Nico had found a way out of the conversation and taken it. He got lucky. She'd have to make him pay for it later. "Come on, guys, sit down and I will explain the whole ankle thing that led to the hospital and this huge misunderstanding."

"Ankle?" Lindsay finally seemed to notice the splint around the swollen mass that used to be Dani's foot and sat down in the chair.

"Awesome," Ray Jay said, inspecting the damage. "How did you manage to do that?"

"Went through a rotten board on the porch," Dani explained. They looked at her, and she shook her head. This was hard for her to explain. She couldn't tell them about Nico's past—not that she fully understood the connection he had to the house other than that something terrible had happened to him and possibly his sister while they were there. She couldn't tell them that he'd pushed her away and that she'd gone after him, either. Most people would have told her just to let Nico go. If she'd been advising a patient, she might even have said the same thing. She couldn't force him to change, couldn't force him to be in a relationship if he didn't want to be. That had been why she was so insistent that it was his choice. He wanted to try... or he didn't, but he she wasn't going to make that decision for him. She could only make it for herself.

Dani took a breath. She would just skip explaining most of what had happened at the house and why they were there. "It didn't happen here. Nico has—had—this old house that we were... looking at—he had it torn down after the porch collapsed, so it's not there anymore and—it was something that he had to let go of to move forward, though I don't think he really expected to do it right now. I don't even think he realized how bad of a state the house was in."

"So, this is his fault?"

Dani shook her head. "I don't blame him, and neither should you. Besides, when the porch collapsed, he took the brunt of it, protecting me. He's a better man than you—or he—knows. We're still in the very early stages of our relationship. No one is getting married, not right now. Okay?"

"Okay," Lindsay said, though she really didn't seem all that convinced. She shook her head. "This whole thing is just... crazy. First you say you're not dating. Then you say you're dating. Then you were married. I'm not ready for any of this yet."

"I know, sweetie," Dani said, reaching a hand out to her. "It's a big change, the divorce, first of all, and I didn't know that I was ready to move on with my life, but... sometimes things just... happen. It can take something small to change the way you look at a person and your life. I would not have expected to fall for Nico. There was someone else I thought maybe... But Nico is different. The way I feel about him is different. There is a part of me that will always love your father. And I'm glad I married him because I have you. I can't be married to your father anymore, but I do care about him."

Ray Jay smiled a little. Lindsay bit her lip. Dani looked at both of them. "Can I have a hug? Injured mother here, and I can't get up to squeeze you, so..."

"Why should we come to you? You had us freaking out that you were married again without telling us."

"Yeah," Lindsay added. "There should totally be consequences."

"Totally."

Dani rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah? And what exactly do you think those should be?"

* * *

><p>Nico made his way into the kitchen, assuming it to be the most likely location where he would find the source of the broken glass—his niece—and could assess the damage. Juliette's hyper activity whenever she started to get clean was actually harder to manage than when she was suffering from withdrawal or high. She tended to take depressants, and he had been meaning to ask Santino if she thought that maybe Juliette suffered from some form of manic depressive disorder. The way she went from the hyper almost manic "sugar" highs to the bitterness, the dark depression that had her searching for some party, some drug, or some man that could make her feel better for just a little while. She started with the drugs, and everything else was just a complication after that. Of course, it was oversimplifying it to say that she only got high when she was depressed and she did party and take drugs and sleep with men when she was hyper as well.<p>

He pushed in the door and frowned as he saw the red liquid across the floor. It was too bright to be blood, but the puddle was expanding across the kitchen without anyone actively trying to stop it. He walked around the counter and found Juliette sitting on the floor.

"I broke the pitcher."

"I saw that," he agreed, kneeling down next to her. "You know Danielle has two kids. And TK. She's used to pitchers breaking. This isn't the end of the world."

"No," Juliette said, wiping at her face. "But this is."

She held up a bottle of wine with only a few drops left in it. He forced himself not to react. She shook her head, dropping it on the floor. "I didn't even make it a week. I was only alone for a few minutes. TK got a call from that Devin kid, and Jeanette went to the bathroom. I saw the wine... and I took it. When Jeanette came back, I hid it in the sink and told her she should find TK because I was making a special batch of Kool-Aid. She... believed me."

Nico reached over and touched Juliette's face gently. "Of course she did. She thinks the best of you. Balzarini likes you—and not because Danielle told her to, but because you two have a lot in common."

"Like that?" Juliette asked, kicking the bottle. It rolled into the counter and broke. She shook her head. "I break everything."

"Not everything," he told her, guiding her eyes back to his. "Look at me. This, right here, this is just a setback. We knew they might happen. You don't want to know how many times this was me, and my set backs were... messier. I didn't just break pitchers. I'm too much like my father for that."

"Nico—"

"No, I'm not my father," he said, leaning her against his shoulder, combing his fingers through her hair. "You're not your mother. You're also not me. You have to make your own path through this. This is going to be a long fight. It's going to take you a lot longer than a week. Don't think about what happened today as the end. It's not the end, not of the day or of the war. And it _is _a war. A war against yourself. Most of the time you think you won't win, but you know what I think?"

She wiped at her eye and looked up at him. "What?"

"That if there's one thing that our family did have, it's strength. You have that. You want to look at me and say I have it and you don't, but it's not true. Even your mother has it. She chooses when she uses it, but it's definitely there," he answered, taking a hold of her hand and stretching it out. She frowned at him. "Do you see any shaking there?"

"That's 'cause I took my pills from the doctor today before I found the alcohol."

"Do you ever shake when you're not on the pills? Are you ever scared to speak your mind?"

She lowered her head, leaning closer against him. "I haven't said how I really felt to my parents. I got angry. I said a lot of shit, but I didn't actually tell them why. And I never say what I should to you."

"You don't have to. I know."

She laughed a little. "Ha ha. You don't really believe your own myth, do you?"

"Of course not," he said, adjusting his position so that the corner of the island wasn't poking him in the back. "I _do _find it useful, though."

"I wish I had a better myth. I hate being the junkie loser who sleeps with everyone."

"So we make you a better myth."

"A Nico-like myth?"

"You don't want my myth."

"I want to be scary."

He looked down at her. He understood why she thought wanted it, but she didn't understand what it was really like. "Just because you're scary... That doesn't mean that people can't hurt you, Juliette. It only means that you can't let it show when it happens."

* * *

><p>"Kitchen's off-limits," TK announced, coming into the living room. Dani and the kids looked up at him, frowning. Jeanette followed him inside, looking guilty. Dani watched them both, trying to figure out which one would cave first. She needed an explanation here. "Some weird stuff going on in there."<p>

Jeanette shook her head. "It's not that weird. It's... sweet."

"Uh, it's Nico. Acting human. It's weird," TK disagreed, going over to high five Ray Jay. He gave Lindsay a smile, and she half-smiled back.

"I think I messed up, Dani," Jeanette admitted, coming closer to the couch. She sat on the floor next to it and looked up guiltily. "I left Juliette alone while she was making the punch."

"And my pitcher got broken?"

"Not just that, honey. Remember the wine we got into last week? We left it in the kitchen."

Dani winced. She'd meant to put it all away, but Juliette hadn't actually gotten into it when she was left alone before, and so it had kind of slipped her mind. She wasn't used to all the extra people in her house, but that wasn't much of an excuse. She had two teenagers and knew better than to leave wine out where they could get into it. Not that either of them seemed to have a problem, but Juliette did. Nico did. If Dani was going to keep seeing them—dating Nico and being a support for Juliette—she was probably going to have to keep the house clear of alcohol. Jeanette could bring it over with her, but Dani couldn't have it around the house anymore.

"I should have stayed with her."

Dani shook her head. "Jeanette, you can't watch her twenty-four seven. None of us can. None of us _should. _Juliette has to be able to make the choices she needs to make. Rehabilitation is not a slow process. She could have been taken to a place that's completely clean and stayed there until she recovered, but from what I heard, that hasn't worked for her in the past. She had a bad experience in one, something bad enough for Nico to be opposed to taking her to any other place like it. He didn't have anything where they were staying, but sooner or later, she was going to have to choose whether or not she was going to do it. Better now than later."

"What makes you say that?"

Dani looked over at her son and sighed. She shouldn't be discussing this here, in front of everyone. It had to stop. "Because if Juliette has a set back early in her recovery, it's still _early. _It's not going to be as hard as if she got a year down the road and had a bad time. She won't feel the guilt of 'losing' that whole year she put into it. We shouldn't be talking about this, though—"

"She's a part of our lives now, right? Since you're dating him and he's her uncle. That means she's going to be around or mentioned, and shouldn't we know what to do? If we should talk about the rehab stuff or the drugs or even the alcohol? What if... What if she tried to talk us into taking her somewhere to get alcohol or something?" Lindsay asked, and Dani shook her head.

"I don't believe Juliette would do that."

"You didn't think she'd drink the wine in your kitchen, did you?"

"Lindsay—"

"Come on, I break one little speaker box and I'm grounded for a month—still cruel and unusual punishment, by the way—but you'll let her get away with drinking?"

"I disagree with the month as cruel and unusual punishment," Nico said quietly, and Dani looked over at him, wincing again. She should have done more to stop this conversation. It was inappropriate and Juliette didn't need to hear Lindsay's discouraging comments.

"He means it, too. When I hit that mailbox, he took away my license and my car and... Actually, he never gave them back. My parents bought me a new car and sent someone with me to get a new license," Juliette said, shaking her head. She laughed a little, leaning against him. "Do you still have that car?"

"I told you what you could do to get it back."

"You'll have to remind me. I want it back," she said. She took a deep breath. "I just came to say I was sorry for the pitcher. I can replace it."

"It's not a big deal. I don't care about the pitcher."

"And... I really need to apologize for the wine. I didn't..." Juliette trailed off, shaking her head. She looked up at her uncle. "Can we go now? I just want to go. I should go home and clean up again."

"You don't have to go, Juliette. You're welcome here as long as you want."

"I am? What?"

Dani gave Lindsay a pointed look, holding up a hand. She would talk to her daughter later, in private. This was something that had to be said now. "Yes, in fact, I'd like you to stay. With my ankle, I won't be able to move around much, but I figure the two of us can help each other out for the next few days. Especially since your uncle's going to be stubborn and say he's ready to go back to work."

Nico gave her a dark look for the last part, and Juliette started crying again. She looked up at Nico. "I don't understand..."

He put his hand on her shoulder. "It's not the end, remember?"

She latched onto him in a hug that made Nico almost double over. "I swear I'll do better. I won't even eat as much candy. Promise. I can be less hyper. I can be less of a pain. I don't have to be like... I was. I can be a lot better."

Nico straightened up and looked at her. "I just want you to be who you are. Without the drugs. And the alcohol."

"Does that mean I can have the sugar?"


	31. A Peace Offering

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,772  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I finally got one part handled. I've been meaning to do this for a while...

* * *

><p><strong>A Peace Offering<strong>

"Nico!"

He had wanted to make it to his office without incident, having no desire to speak to anyone or deal with anything before he'd had a chance to reassess everything from the quiet of his office, but he had known that he'd never be that fortunate. He had managed to make it in from the parking lot and through most of the building, and that shouldn't have given him a false sense of security, and yet it had. He should have known better. He lacked stealth when he was injured. It was a basic fact. He turned back to look at the man who'd called to him.

"Donnally." If there was someone that Nico truly did not want to speak to right now, it would have to be the trainer. He was not looking forward to any questions, particularly about his relationship with Danielle. That was private.

Unless, of course, her best friend happened to have posted a picture and told the whole world that they were married. Then things were definitely not private.

"Damn, Nico," Donnally exclaimed, taking in Nico's still bruised appearance. He could have done something about that, he supposed, but he didn't feel like it. "What happened to you?"

"Are you asking for the truth or the rumors started by Ms. Balzarini?" Nico asked, resuming his walk to his office. He would rather deal with whatever this was sitting down. His back ached, and the few pills he'd allowed himself to take had not even dulled the pain. "I'm not married. Is that answer enough?"

"Not really. It doesn't explain why you look like you got the crap kicked out of you."

"It was a porch. It collapsed. Dr. Santino was also injured. I took her there. Blame me if you want. And now we're done, so leave my office," Nico said, sitting down and closing his eyes for a moment.

"You know, I could help with the injuries. It's kind of my job."

"I am not an athlete. I did not pull anything. I am bruised. I will live."

Donnally came around the desk. "Look, I know we've never really gotten along, but you're obviously in pain. You could let me take a look. I might be able to help. And the doctor could give you something if the other ones you saw didn't. You_ did _see a doctor, right?"

"I did. I have a prescription," Nico answered. He did not have any intention of filling the prescription, but that was not something he felt the need to share with Donnally. He just wanted the other man gone so that the could have a moment of peace. He shook his head. "I don't want anyone poking at me. I... appreciate the offer, but it is not necessary."

"Okay, fine," Donnally said. He shook his head. "There is one other thing. I know you're helping your niece and—"

"And what?" Nico demanded. "You expect something for your silence?"

"Damn, what kind of a world do you live in, Nico?" Donnally asked, shaking his head. "I was going to say that... sometimes a physical training or exercise program can help with rehab—if the person's body can take it. It can be really light at first, but it could help her. If you want, I'll work one up for her. That's it."

Nico frowned. "Why are you doing this?"

Donnally sighed. "Dani said some things the other day that made me think. Juliette did, too. I just thought I'd offer. No harm, no foul, right?"

Nico opened the bottom drawer to his desk. "It's up to Juliette if she wants to work with you on the training program or exercise regimen or whatever you want to call it. You can contact her through Dr. Santino. And I have to remind you that Pittman has made his orders clear about helping her. I won't do anything about it as I am far guiltier myself, but you are aware of the potential consequences if someone else—perhaps Ms. Radcliffe—chooses to say something, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am. I'll talk to Dani later," Donnally said, turning to leave. He stopped in the doorway. "How the hell can you date her and call her Dr. Santino?"

"In this instance, professionalism was required. I do not always call her Dr. Santino, and that is all that you need know," Nico answered. He would never be... friends with Donnally, that much seemed clear, but they did not need hostilities, either. "Send Ms. Radcliffe in to see me, would you?"

* * *

><p>"Anything else you need, Dani?"<p>

"Juliette, really, you do _not _need to wait on me hand and foot. I'm fine. I didn't ask you to stay because I wanted a servant. I asked you here because I wanted your company. That's all," Dani insisted. She really didn't want Juliette thinking that she had to take care of Dani to be welcome. Juliette really didn't get the concept of someone doing something without getting anything in exchange, even though Nico was not like that. Then again, Juliette had a lot of confusion where her uncle was concerned.

"I'm here. I can get you what you need. Really. It's not a problem."

"Just because my daughter is being unreasonable about you being here does not mean that you have to earn a place," Dani insisted. "Lindsay is having a very hard time adjusting—to my divorce, to the idea of me as a single parent, to me dating your uncle. She's not good with change, and she resents it. We're working on it, but her issues are not your problem. Don't take on more than you already have. You just need to focus on your recovery and where you go from here."

Juliette nodded. "Still, I don't want to be a problem for her."

"I know you don't. I think that Lindsay might actually like having another girl around, once she stops being offended. Give her another couple days."

"Nico said he'd send someone over to get my stuff from my place. I guess my lease is up anyway. I'll have to find someplace new. Something I can afford, I guess. I don't know. I don't have much of anything. I've never worked before. I don't have any money. I think Nico was making sure that I didn't end up on the street... I know, enabling, right? I can't complain, though. Bad enough I was willing to trade it, but if I took money for it..."

Dani held out her hand and Juliette took it with a frown. Dani pulled her close and hugged her tightly for a long time. "It's going to be okay. You don't have to worry about going anywhere right now. You can start to make choices. Is there anything you would have liked to do in college? I'm not suggesting that we put you in courses right now—the pressure might be too much, at least if you were doing full-time classes, but maybe one or two might be nice, give you something to work on as you get back on your feet?"

"I never gave it much thought. Ha—I know what I should do. I should get a business degree and stick it to my parents by running some company that takes theirs over," she said, laughing. Dani didn't really see her as a business major, but then Juliette was always surprising her.

The doorbell rang. Juliette got up. "I'll get it."

"I'll be here," Dani muttered, sending a death glare to her ankle. She was already sick of being unable to move around. She couldn't wait until she had full mobility again.

"Dani, there's someone to see you," Juliette called, disgust in her voice as she led Matt into the room. He glanced at her uncomfortably and forced a smile for Dani.

"Hi."

She waved from her couch. It was equally awkward for them, even though Dani knew he'd been trying to help when he warned her away from Juliette. "Hi. You here to inspect the doctor's job? It's not that bad, I don't think."

"That's probably because you, unlike Nico, seem willing to take the painkillers."

"It's that obvious that he doesn't?" Dani asked, trying to sit up a little more. Matt came over to help her, and Juliette snorted, turning to leave.

He looked back and winced. "She hates me. I can't blame her."

"You said some rather ignorant things," Dani began. "Juliette doesn't need her mistakes thrown in her face. She did a lot of things for the attention she wasn't getting, and she's desperate to please _someone, _anyone. I'm not saying that she should be... coddled, but some respect would go a long way. She _is _making positive choices."

"I know. I'm sorry. You were right. I was angry because of that stupid tweet TK did about you and Nico, and then we fought. I said things I shouldn't have."

Dani nodded. "I'm not the only one that needs an apology."

"I know. And I came with more than an apology. I have a peace offering. More than one, actually. Since I knew you were laid up, I brought pizza. It's in the car. I figured I'd make sure it wasn't going to be thrown in my face or anything before I brought it in," Matt explained. Dani smiled at him. "And the other thing... I thought I'd offer to help Juliette create a program for exercise or training. It could help with her recovery. Only if she wants, though. Nico was very clear on that."

"Thank you, Matt," Dani told him with another smile. She reached for her bell, the one that Juliette had written _not for Nico _on, but it was too far away. "Can you pass me that? I'll call her back so you can talk to her."

"'Not for Nico?'" Matt asked, reading the words aloud. "What?"

"Oh, Nico snuck up on me again this morning, before he left, and I threatened to put a bell on him. Again. When Juliette gave me this, she said it wasn't for him. I think she actually likes that he can come and go like that," Dani answered, shaking her head as she rang the bell.

Juliette poked her head in the doorway. "You rang, mistress?"

Dani laughed. "Matt brought us pizza. And he wants to apologize to you."

Juliette studied the trainer for a minute. "Okay. I'm listening. For now."

* * *

><p>"You're late, you know. We already ate. The trainer guy brought us pizza," Juliette scolded as she opened the door to the Santino house. She shrugged. "I might even forgive him."<p>

Nico looked at his niece and shook his head. "That's not necessarily eating."

"Oh, please, just because it's not from that one obscure but authentic little restaurant you like so much does not mean it's not food," she said, shutting the door behind her. "So, my stuff came today. Thank you. I didn't expect it so soon."

"All I did was ask."

"Yeah, and everyone's still too scared of your myth not to do what you want. I saw that there was an official retraction on Jeanette's photo and then a lot of press to deflect it, all about some new program the Hawks are doing that I've _never _heard of before," Juliette said. "You frighten that PR lady today? Radcliffe? I never liked the way she tried to 'spin' my latest breakup, but I guess she does good work."

"She is quite talented at manipulation," Nico agreed. "Shouldn't you be asleep by now?"

"You going to try and give me a curfew now?"

He shook her head. "No. I remember the last time we did that."

She grinned at him, then stood up to kiss his cheek. "I was just waiting to say good night to you, I swear."

He knew she was lying. They both did, but he didn't call her on it this time. She turned toward the living room. "You better not be cheating, Ray Jay! That game is supposed to be paused."

Nico shook his head again and pushed her toward the living room. It was enough for him to see that she was doing good today. He didn't need to put her in bed himself. He had done it before, but she needed to make these decisions on her own, and the Santino children were another step in her recovery. He wasn't sure how well he liked her spending time with them, given the boy's behavior toward women and her weakness for men of all sorts, but he couldn't stop her, either.

"Dani's already upstairs. Ray Jay helped her up earlier," Juliette said, stopped in the doorway. "Lindsay still hates me. Ray Jay's going to when I kick his butt at his favorite game. And she's going to be mad if you don't at least go up and say hi to her. Wake her up if she fell asleep. I'm not kidding. Do it. Go up there."

"You are in no position to order me around, Juliette Marie."

"I quiver in fear of the middle name," she laughed, faking a shudder. "Hey! You _are _cheating, you little punk."

Nico watched her disappear into the living room and shook his head. He looked at the stairs. He was not doing this because of his niece's orders. There were things that he should tell Danielle before he left, and now was the best time to do it. He walked up and crossed over to her doorway.

Danielle had fallen asleep with a book on her lap, and he smiled a little as he saw the cover. So she'd taken his advice about the other novels. Then again, if it put her to sleep, then perhaps she was enjoying it less than the last one. He went over and picked up the book, placing the nearest piece of paper in it to mark the page and set it to the side. He pulled the sheet up so that it covered her and turned off her lamp.

He was halfway to the door when he heard her. Her voice was thick with drowsiness. "Nico?"

He looked back at her. "You should be sleeping."

"And miss you stopping by? No way," she said, trying to sit up. "Get back over here."

"You are the second person to try and order me around in the space of ten minutes. You should know that it doesn't work."

"Please? Or at least sit on the other side of the bed. I haven't gotten to see you all day."

He sat down on the other side of the bed. "Technically, you are not seeing me now. It's too dark. Still, I did have some things to tell you about. First, I should tell you that I employed Ms. Radcliffe to diffuse the photograph situation."

"Oh?"

"The Hawks have a new charity program that is far more newsworthy, and it may obscure the retraction, but it got the notice I believe it needed," Nico explained. She reached across the bed for his hand, and he gave it to her. "Donnally seems to have taken the situation rather well."

"Rather well? That's a compliment, coming from you."

"Donnally is a valued member of the Hawks staff. My personal feelings do not matter," Nico said dismissively.

"Are you jealous?"

"Why would I be?"

She made a face, then pulled on his arm. The action took him by surprise, and she managed to yank him down to the bed. Leaning over, she kissed him. "You know very well why, you silly man."

"You are entirely too easy, Doctor Santino."

She rolled her eyes but kissed him again. "You should stay."

He shook his head. "I don't have anything here for in the morning."

"I don't mean just tonight, Nico," she said, and he frowned at her. "Juliette is staying here. You're spending your free time here anyway, between her and me, and you're hurt and tired. I can see that right now, in spite of the lack of light. I want you here. Just... stay. Move in."


	32. A Stand Off

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,621  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x10, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Well, I don't have two for today, barely managed to have one, but I am happy to note that I've covered more of what needed to be done and should be getting close to the end. It's still a few chapters away, but it's getting there. :)

* * *

><p><strong>A Stand Off<strong>

Nico's hand went out of hers almost instantly, and she knew that she should have gotten a stronger grip first. She heard him get up and reached over to turn on the light. He stopped, adjusting to the brightness, which bought her maybe a minute, she thought. A part of her regretted asking. Another part of her didn't.

"Your daughter has already made her feelings on that matter quite clear."

Dani nodded. "I know what Lindsay said. I'm not asking Lindsay."

"You don't think that maybe you should?" he countered, looking back at her from the doorway. "It is already a problem for her. There is considerable friction within your home because of our relationship and my niece's presence. I have no desire to add to that in any way."

"I know that. And I'm grateful for that. You are a very considerate person—when it comes to everyone but yourself. Nico, you know the candle that's burning on both ends? That's you. That's been you for longer than I think you know," she said, and he frowned at her. "You don't have to stay here forever, though I think I'd like that. If you're here, you don't have to worry about Juliette or what she's doing. You'll know. And you won't have to check on me, either. You'd already know how I was. TK's here half the time, too. It would make your life more convenient, don't you think?"

"Not necessarily. I'm a private person, Danielle. I like being on my own. I work better that way, and I prefer it. I need time to do the things that I do, and I don't keep any kind of regular hours. I may come and go quietly, but that is still disruptive to a household with a routine—and a routine is what Juliette needs. In taking time off, I gave her that. She knew I'd be gone for a couple hours each day, and she knew when I'd be gone. The last thing anyone needs is disruption from me."

Dani shook her head. "Disruption? Is that _really _what you think you are? Nico, your niece loves you and needs you and you are the most important part of her recovery because—and remember, I'm not saying this to blame you—you were a part of her fall in the first place. She needs you here. She needs stability. If you really want her to keep making progress, you are going to have to make adjustments."

"You do not have to tell me how to handle my niece. I think I have enough experience with what does and does not work with her. Yes, I _did _fail to admit to my own problems, but you know my reasons for that. You heard them when she did. Now she knows. That is adjustment enough."

"Nico—"

"I am not going to argue with you, Danielle."

"You already _are _arguing with me," she told him. He folded his arms over his chest. "You're getting defensive, and that's not what I wanted. I made what I thought was a reasonable suggestion. You don't seem willing to accept it, and that is your choice—"

"Then stop arguing over my choice and accept it," he countered. "This discussion is finished."

"What discussion is finished?" Juliette asked, and Nico turned behind him. He took in the three people standing there with a cold and clearly displeased look. "Come on. You two were yelling pretty loudly. We could hear you over the game."

"We were not yelling," Nico objected, and Dani agreed. She didn't remember raising her voice. "And definitely not loud enough to hear over your game."

"What's going on?" Ray Jay asked. "'Cause something is definitely up."

"It is nothing," Nico said. "I was just leaving."

"After an argument? Nice maturity there," Lindsay said, and Nico looked at her. She shifted uncomfortably, backing down. "Well... That's what Mom always says about me, I guess."

"I do not say that."

"It has nothing to do with maturity," Nico said. "The discussion was concluded—not to the satisfaction of all parties, but nevertheless done—and it is time for all of you to be sleeping. My place is not here, so I am going. I see no lack of maturity in that."

"Except for your childish refusal to really consider my offer, sure," Dani muttered. He looked back at her. "I said you could stay. I _asked _you to stay. I think that's a better solution than your 'need' to do things alone."

"I am _not _moving in with you. End of discussion. I'll see you tomorrow, Juliette," Nico said, forcing his way past the three of them and going down the stairs. Dani put her head back and sighed. He was a very stubborn man. He didn't understand. This wasn't so much about commitment as it was convenience. He could stay here as long as his niece was here. He didn't have to stay after that unless it worked out—and she would think that they should both hope that it would—but he wouldn't even think about it. He had stayed the night without anything happening more than once. That shouldn't have been an issue.

"Mom!" Lindsay shouted, appalled. "I don't believe this. I thought we talked about this. You said he wasn't moving in. It's way too soon. You've barely been dating him for... what, a week? It's bad enough his niece is here, but you cannot just move him in."

"I'm always so loved," Juliette muttered, giving Lindsay a dark look before she walked away to the guest room. Dani heard the door slam and winced.

"Lindsay," Dani began, frustrated and trying desperately to keep her cool. "You just heard Nico turn me down. Overreacting like this is not helping. And taking out your anger on Juliette? Also not acceptable. She is a guest. I asked her to stay. Yes, she has problems. So do you. Juliette is _not _her uncle. You can be mad at me for dating. You can be mad at Nico for not being your father. It's understandable. You don't ever have to call him 'dad.' You don't ever have to 'replace' your father with him. But you do not get to take your anger about the fact of him out on his niece, are we clear? Be angry with me. I know I'm the one you're really mad at. I filled for divorce. I started to date. I have a new job. I have new patients. And _I_ am helping Juliette."

Lindsay continued to glare at Dani. Dani sighed and looked at her son. "Do you have anything you'd like to say, Ray Jay? Anything you need to vent or that concerns you?"

He shook his head. "I don't have a problem with Juliette. She's kind of cool. And I get why you'd ask her uncle to stay with us."

"You're such a kiss ass," Lindsay said, shaking her head at her brother. "Freaking goody-two shoes."

Ray Jay glared at her. "I am _not. _You're being unreasonable. You think Juliette's so terrible? Then why _wouldn't _you want her uncle here to keep her in line? She does listen to him. She also talks back to him, and that's... Well, neither of us do. Why not have someone who can around?"

"I'm not sure I like your reasoning," Dani began doubtfully. It sounded almost like her son was working an angle. She took a deep breath. "It's late. We will all get some rest and try and deal with this with clear and calm heads in the morning. Go to bed. Everyone."

Her kids moved away from her door, and Dani heard Lindsay's door slam. She didn't hear any reaction from her son, and she had to hope that was a good thing. She turned over to reach for her light again.

"Were you fighting over me?"

Dani looked back at Juliette and patted the bed. Juliette crossed over and sat down. "You mean with my daughter?"

Juliette shook her head. "No. With my uncle."

"Why would you think that?"

"You asked him to stay because of me, so he could know I was okay, right? It only makes sense. I bet you tried to tell him it would be good for me. That I need him to stay," Juliette began. She looked down, twisting her hands together. "You can't ask him to stay for me. He can't. It's just... He... tries. He really does, but... I think he sees my mom when he's helping me. He could have left, you know? Gone into the Navy and gotten away from Grandpa and Great Uncle Nick, and he didn't. He stayed for her, stayed until she was out, and... he paid for it. He thinks I don't know, but I've heard him and my mom enough to know a few things. He needs to be able to come and go. I just keep finding ways to bring him back. Not good ones, but he did come."

Dani reached over and took one of Juliette's hands, squeezing it. "You are not the cause of any problems between me and your uncle. I asked him for something he wasn't ready to give, that's all. Yes, I'm disappointed, but I knew what I was asking. Go get some rest, okay? Tomorrow's kind of a big day for us."

* * *

><p>"This feels so weird," Cherise said, looking around at the apartment. She shook her head. "I can't seem to get over it, to really believe that this is my house. That this is... my life."<p>

Dani nodded. She and Cherise—the invalids—had been brought to the apartment and set in the chairs, left to watch as TK, Devin, her kids, Juliette, Jeanette, and even some of the men from Nico's security team moved boxes and furniture into the other woman's new home. The apartment was a nice one, somewhat small but practical, with two bedrooms—one for her, one for Devin—and one bathroom. Dani liked the kitchen, and she was getting sick of staring at the same walls in the living room.

"It's a lot to take in, especially after you just left the hospital," Dani agreed. They'd brought Cherise here as soon as she'd been released. TK had wanted to wait until she was out to start putting the apartment together, even though she wasn't allowed to help, just supervise.

Cherise shook her head. "No, it's more than that. I thought when he found out about Devin... He had every right to pack us on the first flight back to Chicago, and I figured that scary man would make sure it happened. It didn't."

"Your son is charming, and he won TK over all on his own," Dani said with a smile, watching Devin proudly carry in a small box, followed by TK. "He deserves a chance to do well, and so do you."

"Even after I lied about Devin's father just to get money?" Cherise asked doubtfully. She shook her head. "I wouldn't have done it, even after the accident. I don't know why TK did. I guess it was because of Devin, but I definitely don't deserve it."

"TK has a big heart, and he wants to help. Maybe it's best not to question it further. Just do your best to keep it. It _is _going to take work on your part. I know that the contract included a stipulation that if you didn't keep up with the schooling that you'd lose what TK was giving you."

"I know," Cherise said. "Surprised he thought of that."

"That would be the scary man who thought of that," Dani said with a faint smile. She was really missing that "scary," stubborn man. "It is, I think, for the best. Makes sure you have something to keep you focused, and this way you don't think you are taking advantage of TK, either. You're just fulfilling your end of the bargain."

"I guess."

Dani gave her a smile. She hoped that Cherise _did _keep up with her school, but now that she'd spoken to her further, she was very glad that Nico had gotten TK to put in that clause. She kind of wished she could move away, spend time with someone else or do something to help. It was too much, sitting still and trying to help Cherise. Devin was a great little boy, but Dani wasn't sure what she thought of his mother.

"Damn, this is a lot of work," TK said, picking up Dani's feet and sitting down on the couch and putting them in his lap. "I'm beat. I think we should call it a day, huh?"

"We're not done yet, TK," Devin said, climbing up into his mother's lap. "I thought we were going to put it all together."

"Maybe that should wait," Dani began. "How much is done? I don't get to see much from here."

"You're not getting the crutches back just so you can look around, Dani," Juliette said, crossing the room. "You're supposed to be resting, not hobbling around."

"You are acting a lot like your uncle," Dani grumbled. She wanted the crutches back, but they'd hidden them somewhere after they dropped her on the couch.

"Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment," Juliette said with a grin.

"I wouldn't."

"Nico!" Juliette cried happily, rushing over to him. She gave him a hug that made him wince again, and Dani sighed, not liking that he was still hurting. Juliette took his hand. "Let me show you what we got done. You are here to see what we did, right?"

"Not exactly."

"You here to make up with Dani, then?"

Nico's eyes drifted to Dani, but he shook his head. "No."

Dani let out a breath, disappointed. She knew that he wasn't going to change his mind about moving in with her, but she had hoped that when they saw each other, he'd at least _talk _to her. It seemed like he was planning on keeping his distance, though.

TK frowned. "Yo, Nico, you know I love ya, man, but if you can't treat the doc right, we're all gonna gang up on your ass and make sure you never hurt her again."

"Your threat has been noted, Terrence," Nico said. He turned back to his niece. "Show me what you want me to see, and then I'm afraid that we'd better go."

"Nico, I want to help."

"I'm not trying to keep you from helping," he said, shaking his head. "Juliette, your parents have demanded to see you."

"What? But I don't... I don't want to, and I don't have to. I'm not using their money; they don't even want me using their _name, _so screw them."

Nico hesitated. He let out a breath. "Unfortunately, this doesn't just affect you. It's about Danielle and Terrence and Donnally. Anyone that's had any contact with you."

"Including you? Like they could fire you. They need you too much."

He didn't answer that. "Show me the apartment."

* * *

><p>"Nico," Danielle called as he reentered the front room, and he went over to the couch. Terrence gave him a look as he got close, and Nico ignored it. The threat was amusing, but he was not bothered by it. Moving in with her was not possible, and he would not apologize for his stand there.<p>

"I really can't stay," he began as he knelt next to the chair. "I don't have time to talk, and I stand by my decision."

"I know you do," she agreed, reaching out to grab a hold of his coat. "If Juliette's parents are going to punish everyone for trying to help her, then I want to be there to speak on my own behalf. And for her as well. She doesn't deserve to have them come after her, not now. She's making good progress. They're only going to set her back again."

"Not necessarily."

Danielle took a deep breath. "You know them far better than I do, but I haven't really heard anything that would make me think otherwise."

Nico knew that was true. He wasn't an optimistic person, and he had little faith in the way his sister and her husband would react to Juliette's behavior. They should be pleased with her choice, should want to do everything in their power to help her stick with it, but it was unlikely that they would be that patient or understanding. "You don't need to be there."

"Need, no. Want, yes."

"You want a lot of things," he said, and she tightened her grip on his coat. "Danielle, this is not something you want to be in the middle of. Let me take care of it. I assure you that Juliette will make it through this."

"I would rather see that for myself."

"Of course you would."

"So, you're taking me, right?" she asked, grinning a little as she moved her hand up his coat. He just looked at her. "Everyone's going to gang up on you until you agree, so you may as well save yourself the trouble."

"You _are _trouble," he told her, and she smiled as she reached up, pulling him close enough to kiss him. She held onto him, trying not let him pull away like he usually did.

TK whistled. "Damn, Doctor D. You want us to give you two the room? 'Cause, you know, we _did _set up Cherise's bedroom and all."

"That will not be necessary, Terrence. I am leaving."

"So am I," Danielle insisted. She looked over at TK. "Crutches, please. I am not going to let Nico leave me behind."

"Danielle, trust me, you do not want to be a part of this," Nico told her. He knew she was stubborn, and it probably would be faster if he let her have her way, but he was not going to give in to every one of her demands. He looked up. "Juliette, are you ready to go?"

"I'd like it if Dani came with us, too."

"See?" Danielle asked. "I told you everyone would gang up on you. Give in. Now."

Nico was not amused. "This is not going to happen again."

"I'll take Dani to the car," Juliette said, holding out her hand for Nico's keys. He did not give them to her. This was not a situation where he could back down or allow himself to be coerced into taking Santino with him, no matter what she argued or who argued with her. If this continued, he would lose the authority he'd spent twenty years cultivating.

"You can wait by the elevator if you're in such a hurry, but you will not get my keys until you pry them from my very dead fingers. We are clear on that, aren't we?"

"It was one mailbox. _One," _Juliette grumbled, walking toward the door and muttering to herself as she did. Danielle looked at him, frowning.

"Nico—"

"You are going to have to learn to pick your battles," he warned her. "If you continue to push, you will lose more than you think."

"Did I win this one, at least?"

He nodded reluctantly. This one she would have, since he could not fight her in front of so many, but he also wasn't going to forget it. Whatever the relationship between them, he did not like being manipulated. She should not have pushed him, not now and not here. "We need to go now."

"I'll help you, Doctor D. I'll get the sticks first," TK said, getting up and going to the other room for Santino's crutches. "Then I'll get you. Unless my man Nico thinks he's up to lifting you this time?"

"I could have done it days ago, despite what everyone else thought," Nico said flatly. Santino shook her head. He knew that if he'd done it, it would have hurt. It also might have ended with him dropping her. Still, he did not doubt that he could have carried her. He had chosen not to.

"Before you go," Cherise began, and Nico turned back to look at her. "You're the one that... you took care of my mother, right?"

"I brought her to a rehab facility," Nico answered, choosing his words carefully. "I am afraid that it did not help her."

"She always told me she'd rather die than quit. I'm not surprised," Cherise said. She took a deep breath. "You... made arrangements for her? For her funeral?"

Nico looked over at TK, but the man was still in the other room. He nodded. "Yes, I did. Preliminary ones. The rest were supposed to wait until you had spoken to Terrence. He did speak to you about it, didn't he?"

"Yes. He did. I just wanted... to thank you. For everything you did for her... and everything you tried to do."

Nico shook his head. "Don't thank me. I didn't—Just...don't. There's nothing to thank me for. Nothing at all."


	33. Siblings

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,832  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x11, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So I think I have it about done, and what happens? Freaking thing gets hijacked. Again. *grumbles*

* * *

><p><strong>Siblings<strong>

"Dani, whatever my parents say... I _am _grateful for everything you've done, and not just for me. For my uncle, too," Juliette said. She almost grabbed Dani's arm, but she stopped when she remembered that Dani was on crutches. "Nico doesn't know it, but he needs you. A lot."

Dani smiled a little. She was still feeling their last conversation, and she knew it was not that simple. Even if Nico wanted her, even if he'd agreed to give their relationship a chance, he was not adjusting well to the change. A part of him was still cut off, unable and unwilling to bend, and she knew that he'd been right—she _did _have to pick her battles. This one, for Juliette, was one that she was not about to back down from, but some of the others, yes, she'd just have to let go.

"It's just your mother," Nico informed Juliette when he returned from the other room. He glanced at Dani and then at Juliette. "And she's... not at her best."

"Meaning she's been drinking since she got up this morning?" Juliette asked, and Dani winced as Nico gave a curt nod.

"I told her we were leaving until she was sober, and you can imagine how well that went over," Nico went on, and by then Dani could hear the woman yelling. He shook his head. "Go back to the car. I'll handle her."

"Juliette, baby!" the voice called, and Nico moved to intercept his sister before she could reach them. Dani looked over at Juliette, who was chewing on her lip and shaking her head. "Oh, Nico, let go of me. I'm not going to hurt anyone."

"You already have just by doing what you're doing now, not that you understand that," he said as she struggled in his grip. She shoved a glass up near his face, and he turned away quickly.

"Is that what they tell you in AA?"

"You know I never went there. You need to stop this, Gabriella. You said you wanted to see Juliette, and I brought her here only because I thought that for once you'd try to make things right with your daughter. You and your husband. Now he's not here, and I find you like this. The conversation is finished."

"Oh, please. You going to try and fight for custody again? Hmm? She's too old for that now. She's not a minor."

"Yes, she can make her own decisions—notice how stubbornly she won't leave despite what I told her—but that does not mean that you have the right to do this to her, either," Nico insisted. He gave Dani and Juliette a look, and Dani nodded. He was right. Juliette didn't need to see her mother like this. It wasn't that Dani thought Juliette had never seen this before. She probably had seen it more times than any daughter should. She didn't have to see it, and she didn't need to hear whatever her mother might spout off while she was drunk.

"You just have to wait a few minutes," Gabriella muttered, shaking her head. "Then I'll pass out and my husband will show up and act like the calm, reasonable one. He'll say that he's proud of his daughter and tell her all the things that we should always tell her."

"Stop it," Nico said. He pried the drink away from his sister's hand and set it to the side. Dani let go of the handle of her crutch for a second and reached for Juliette's arm. The girl didn't seem to be able to turn away from the train wreck in front of her.

"Can't you stick me in whatever rehab you've got Juliette in?" Gabriella asked, shaking her head. "Just do it, Nico. Lock me away in one of those places again. I'm so sick of this. There's not enough alcohol, not enough pills, not enough men to make me forget. I've seen such terrible things, and I can't forget them, can't escape them."

"Do you think I haven't?" Nico asked, shaking his head. "I'll take you to your room. You can sleep this off. And you won't ask me to see Juliette again. Not unless you're sober."

Gabriella yanked on his coat. "No. I want out, Nico. I want a divorce. I can't do this anymore. I told you. There's not enough... I can't forget. I can't get away. I need out."

"Juliette," Dani called, worried about the effect this news would have on her. She tried to get a hold of her arm again, give a shake, but she almost lost her balance and had to lean on the crutches again. "Juliette, I think we should go..."

"I know you do," Nico agreed, brushing his sister's hair back from her face. "Sleep now."

She wrapped her arms around him, and Dani could hear her crying. "You know what? I actually miss those days back in Pittsburgh. I shouldn't. It sounds crazy, doesn't it? It _is _crazy. But back then, you could hold me and somehow that just made all of it go away. I knew I was safe, and it would all be okay, no matter how angry _he_ was. I had my big brother, and Nico made it all better. He could fix anything."

"You know that's not true."

"My fault. Pushed you away," she went on, tightening her grip on Nico's coat. "Could you do it now, big brother? Hold me and make it all go away? Please?"

Nico sighed, picking her up as she passed out.

* * *

><p>"Do you think she means it?" Juliette asked, and Nico looked over at her. He set his sister down on the chair and pointed Danielle to one of the others. She actually obeyed without protest, and he figured that she was starting to hurt on the crutches. She should not have been here, and he had tried to talk her out of it, but she was one of the most stubborn people he'd met. He still remained the most stubborn person he'd known, but not by much.<p>

"Juliette, I... Your mother has threatened to file for divorce many times over the years. She never has. She probably doesn't mean it now."

Juliette shook her head. "Not that. You know I actually don't care if she's with my dad. All they do is make each other miserable. They _shouldn't_ be married. She was just a pretty face to him, and he's had plenty of others. I'm not an idiot. I know about that. I know a lot more than they think. I just... I hope she meant it about the rehab."

Nico took a deep breath. "She also says that at least once a month and never follows through, Juliette. Don't get your hopes up. Your mother... says a lot of things she doesn't mean."

"Like that you actually tried to get custody of me?"

He ignored the question. It was not something he was willing to discuss. She might see that as some sign of some greater commitment on his part, and he wished it were that simple, for her sake, but if she didn't remember what prompted that particular incident, she was by far better off for it. She did remember enough other things that hurt her.

"We should go. You know how your mother is when she wakes up."

"What if she meant it? Shouldn't we at least stick around to find out?" Juliette asked. She folded her arms over her chest. "We could take her some place to clean out. Let her make the choice sober like you let me."

Nico had been down this road too many times with his sister to believe any of it, but he knew that Juliette had not. She had reached her own turning point, and she desperately wanted to believe that her mother had, too. He wanted to protect her from that long line of disappointment. He still had his moments where he fell for it just like he'd done with his father when the old man claimed he wanted to change. Two days later, Nico always seemed to be dealing with some broken bone and hating himself for being so gullible. That was the cycle of living with an addict or an alcoholic. Wanting to believe and being disappointed. Over and over again.

"Nico?" Danielle began, and he looked over at her. He supposed she didn't see it, either. She motioned for him to come closer, and he frowned as he walked over. He leaned down next to her, and she sighed. "As much as I—You might need to let Juliette do this. I know how you feel about what your sister's doing, and you may very well be right. I'm afraid that you are. I'm just not sure that Juliette will understand unless she sees for herself."

"I enable them. All of them. It's what I do. Fix things. By fixing... I enable."

"Nico, you can't blame yourself for your sister's decisions. You know what she's struggling with, and you know how hard it is to overcome. You also know how it feels to be on the other side, to be the one who wants to believe the best when all you ever see is the worst. You didn't give up on Juliette. I know it's not easy for you, but you'll have to let her see this through with her mother. If Gabriella hurts Juliette, then you'll be there for her. You don't have to be there for Gabriella unless she sincerely wants to change. You don't have to enable. Neither of you do."

He looked down. What Danielle said was reasonable, but he found himself wanting it not to be. He didn't want to expose anyone to his sister like this. "When Gabriella wakes up, it will _not _be 's extremely verbally abusive when she's hungover."\

"You know how to do damage control, and I will be there for Juliette, too," Danielle reminded him. "It may take only once to see it from this side. Let Juliette do it now. This should... help her in her own determination not to slip up again."

"You are inviting yet another alcoholic into your life," he said, shaking his head as he rose. He picked his sister up again. "We'll let her sleep it off at my house. There's nothing there for her to drink and even less for her to break."

Juliette stepped up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Nico. I know you didn't want to, so... Thanks."

He nodded, shifting Gabriella's weight and trying not to think about how much his back hurt right now. "Help Danielle to the car, please."

* * *

><p>"And now to sit back and wait for the screaming to start," Nico said tiredly, sitting down in the chair. Dani looked up at him from the couch and frowned slightly. Despite his words to TK earlier, he should not have been carrying his sister around. It had taken its toll on him. So had the emotions of the morning. He was clearly in pain and warring with himself over attempting to help his sister. It went against his better judgment, and Dani didn't like encouraging it, either. Nico knew Gabriella far better than she did, and nothing she'd heard made her optimistic about the situation, but she knew that Juliette had to face this at least once to understand the way her uncle did.<p>

"Nico, I don't—"

"Please, don't. I'm not... I'm bound to say something I'll regret at this point."

"Fine. Don't say anything. Just come sit next to me and let me hold you for a change."

He gave her an odd look at the words, and she shrugged slightly. She held out her hand to him, and he slowly took it, allowing himself to be pulled over to her side. It wasn't really possible to take him into her lap, so she ended up sitting up and getting him as a makeshift pillow again. "Sorry. Now you're holding me again."

"I suppose this will have to do until your ankle heals."

She looked up at him. "I feel like asking if you'll stick around until that happens, and that's not fair. It's just hard, you know. You always seem to need to push me away. I know why you're doing it, so I keep telling myself that I can handle it, that I just have to be patient, but you like to keep yourself closed off and distant. No matter how many frying pans these situations throw us in, you never seem to melt."

"Whereas I feel that I've 'melted' too much already. I'm not—I cannot be this open person that everyone seems to expect. It goes against my nature and my training. I do try to be honest. I'll tell you if I am unwilling to talk about something rather than lie about it," he said. "I can't change who I am."

"And I don't want you to," she agreed, reaching up to touch his face. "I just want to share more with the person that you are. We're both stubborn, and this is a give-and-take. I'll push you, and you push me right back. I've done a lot of pushing lately, and you got defensive and pushed back."

He took a deep breath. "Danielle, one thing I have to ask of you—do not push me in front of the team. I spent a long time building up a reputation that I _need _to use in doing my job. The threat of what I can be has kept me from being that person for a long time now. People see me give into you, and that reputation slips, little by little, until it's not there anymore."

"Will you agree to discuss these things in private, then?"

He nodded. "Yes. I know you have concerns over my methods, and you are allowed an opinion. I am not trying to take that from you, but at the same time, you cannot force my hand like that. If we talk about it in private, I may change my mind, but not like what happened back at Cherise's apartment."

She figured she was actually getting a huge concession from him in the fact that he was willing to talk about it rather than issuing a flat ultimatum that she never challenge him at work. "Okay. But I can't promise you that TK won't threaten you again."

"If I truly do hurt you, I'd rather he found a way to carry through with it."

"You're a twisted man, Nico."

"You must be equally twisted because you _like _me this way," he pointed out, and she laughed. She kissed him, turning around in his arms and ignoring her ankle as she tried to get closer to him. His words about creativity came back to her again, and she wondered just how much pain he was in at the moment—not enough to stop him from holding her or kissing her, but probably too much for anything else.

That, and his sister was in the only bedroom in his place.

Nico's current home was almost as empty as the one he'd held onto, the one that had almost killed them. She knew that he didn't go home much, so it probably didn't bother him, if he noticed at all. This place was just somewhere where he slept and occasionally worked. Actually, the sleeping seemed to be occasional as well. That had been a part of why she wanted him to move in with her. She thought he'd actually been sleeping more since he stayed over at her house. Seeing how little he actually had to give up, a part of her wanted to push him about it again. It wouldn't take much to add him to her house. Less than it had taken Ray, but then he'd lived there for seventeen years.

Someone screamed, and Dani groaned, sitting back on the couch. Nico gave her a rueful smile. "Duty calls."

Dani thought about reminding him that Juliette was still in with her mother and decided against it. He needed to do this, and she'd let him. It was a battle she didn't need to fight. Even if she kind of wanted to because making out with him was... really nice. She shook her head, wondering if she'd been this foolish over Ray. It had to have been worse, right? She was younger then and convinced she was right and if she'd met a man like Nico then she never would have held her own against him. She'd grown into a much stronger person, but if she'd known Nico back then...

She sighed. He could have used a friend in his life then, before, even now.

* * *

><p>"Where the hell am I?"<p>

"Calm down, Gabriella. You know exactly where you are," Nico told her as he walked into the room. Juliette looked back at him, relief showing on her face. He took in the bag of Skittles on her lap and shook his head. This would not be good. That was the second bag—the first one had been the original flavor and this one was tropical—and she had probably eaten all of them while she waited for her mother to wake up.

"Oh. This is your place, isn't it? I thought you said you were going to decorate it."

"I only told you that so you wouldn't hire someone for it. I like it the way it is," he told her, sitting down next to Juliette. His niece grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. He could feel hers shaking slightly, so he leaned down next to her ear. "Is that the sugar or did you forget something today?"

"Relax, Control Freak, it's just the sugar," she answered, looking at him and sticking out her tongue. "I like sugar."

"I know."

Gabriella put a hand to her head. "I need a pill the size of a horse to get rid of this headache."

"You can start with water. Technically, you're just dehydrated," he told her, getting up to fill her a glass of water. Juliette watched him, likely remembering the times he'd done this for her, though he'd never taken care of her mother in front of her before.

"I asked you to fix everything again, didn't I?" she asked, sipping from the water and making a face. He ignored it. This wasn't about what tasted good. She would want another drink—hell, _he _did at this point—but she would not find one here. "I'm sorry, Nico. I know I promised to stop asking."

"The only reason it's a problem is because I can't fix you," he said, looking at her. "Only you can do that. People can try and help you, over and over again, but it won't make one damn bit of difference unless you're willing to accept it."

"You're spending way too much time with that shrink of yours."

"That may well be," he agreed. "You never spent enough time with yours."

"I didn't want to sleep with mine."

"Why not? You slept with everyone else."

"Nico!" Juliette cried, and he lowered his head. He'd actually managed to forget that she was there. It was just that he was having the same old conversation with his sister. He didn't want his niece to hear this, not that he thought she had any illusions left when it came to her mother.

"Your uncle has never held back when it comes to me, and he's not going to start now," Gabriella said, finishing the water. He took the glass and refilled it, handing it back to her. "You really don't have anything here, do you, Nico? Not even... something for your back?"

"I fought long and hard to get sober again. I have no intention of throwing it away over some minor discomfort."

"Please. I saw your back, Uncle Nico. That's not minor pain. You should have like a medal for doing this without painkillers."

"I am not a hero, Juliette," he insisted. He looked at his sister. "If you intend to drink or find a pill, you can go. You know where I stand on that. There's nothing here, anyway. You were right about that. I'm afraid I don't have the patience left for these games. Your daughter wants to believe you. I stopped a long time ago."

"Why do you keep helping her, then? Why her and not me?"

He looked at Juliette and touched her cheek. "Because when she asks for my help, she actually means it. You... you just want it all gone, and life doesn't work that way."

"Like you don't act like it didn't happen or doesn't exist. You never even talk about what they did to us. Like it was nothing. Like you've put it all past you or something."

"You know I haven't. I'm not past it, but I don't want to discuss it. I don't like remembering it. I also know I can't escape it. I can't trust myself with alcohol. I have a problem with violence. I'm paranoid and have never had a normal relationship in my life, not even a friendship. The fact that Danielle has stuck around this long owes mostly to her own stubbornness and very little to anything that I have done for her," he said, shaking his head. "I am just as damaged as you are, Gabriella. It just shows in different ways with me."

Gabriella looked up at him. "I... meant what I said, Nico."

"About getting sober?" Juliette asked almost hopefully. She put a handful of candy in her mouth, and Nico reached for the bag, taking it from her. She glared at him.

"No... Well... Yes, I suppose I'll have to, but... I want the divorce."


	34. Doubts

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,501  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x11, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I haven't exactly reclaimed this story. I tried. After the real life stuff that happened, it was hard to work on this one, and then coming back to it just kind of went a little... er... off...

* * *

><p><strong>Doubts<strong>

"What's the matter, Nico?" Dani asked, sitting up as he moved around his apartment. He seemed agitated, but then he would be, with his sister now awake, hungover, and possibly verbally abusive. Dani hadn't really liked being left out of it, stuck on the couch. She was so sick of her ankle already. It would be nice if she could just walk.

He stopped. "I'm going to take you home, Danielle. Before you argue with me—my sister has agreed to go to rehab, at least for now. She wants the divorce. She knows if she's going to get half of what she wants, she needs to be sober. The difference between her idea of that and Juliette's... is an exclusive, designed for and catering to the rich. She has requirements, very specific ones, and my methods do not agree with them."

"That doesn't mean you have to take me home."

"I will be driving my sister back to her home, supervising her packing, and taking her to this rehab center. It is going to take me a few hours—this center is not close by, and the last thing you need is to be stuck in a car all day long," Nico told her. "You can be home with your children."

She sighed. That was what she should do. She knew that. He was right. It didn't mean that she wanted to do it, though. How bad was that? She wanted to ditch her children to be with her boyfriend. She winced at that thought—actually more because who the hell in their right mind would call Nico a boyfriend—though her desertion of her children bothered her as well. Then again, Ray Jay and Lindsay were fine. Nico... Nico was still injured, still trying to handle every situation, and still being flooded by his past. He _needed _her. She needed to be with him.

"And if I said I wanted to go with you?"

Nico frowned at her. "I'd say that you were crazy."

"Would you, really?"

"You are the therapist, but it seems unlikely to me that anyone should _want _to come along. Gabriella should be full of theatrics and drama for the entire trip. Juliette has been through at least one bag of candy, and your ankle will... be uncomfortable as well," he answered, and she shrugged. "You don't really want to sit in the car or deal with my family's drama. No one does. I don't."

"Yes, you do," Dani told him, and he looked at her. She gave him a smile. "You still love your sister. You love your niece. They're family, and you want to help them. You want it even more _because _they're your family. You made their problems yours a long time ago, and unfortunately, you can't fix this, not for them. They have to make the choices for themselves. You know that. That's why you let Juliette make it. Your sister _has _made it, and it is up to her how long that lasts. Days, weeks, months... as much as you want it to be forever, you know that can only be decided by her."

He looked away for a moment. She saw the emotions pass over his face, but the mask was quickly put back in place. "I can't fix people."

"And I can only try," Dani admitted. "And I have to admit, I don't like any more than you do."

"You are better equipped to help people than I am."

"I have some training you don't, but I swear you've read more of the books and experienced more of it for yourself—you don't hardly need me. Except here... you're too close to it. That can be good—or bad. You know the people, know how they think, and that can be good. Or... not."

He nodded. "Sometimes I do know too much."

"And think too much."

"And you don't?"

"No, I do," she agreed. She reached for him, and he let her take his hand and pull him close to her. She smiled as he leaned down next to her. "We could both use some time without thinking, right?"

"I don't know that the activities you're suggesting are necessarily exclude thinking, but it does have more than its fair share of appeal," he went on, and she was more than a little pleased to see that he was so close to allowing himself to be distracted. "It is going to have to wait."

"Forever?"

He shook his head. "It has been less than a week."

Intellectually, she knew that. She knew how long it had really been, but this had been one of those weeks where lifetimes had passed. So much had happened in so short a time, and they were still playing catch up to all of that. "Still kind of feels like forever."

"It won't be."

"Promise?"

He tipped her head back and kissed her, and that was all the answer she needed.

* * *

><p>"I think she's tired."<p>

"I think you shouldn't be on your feet," Nico said, not looking behind him, though he knew that Santino was there, where she shouldn't be, even as his eyes didn't leave his niece. She was curled up on her side, had probably dozed off a while ago, right after the sugar rush ended. It had been a long day for her, as it had been for everyone else.

"Well, I don't know," Santino began, drawing out the pause after her words. "There was a part of me that was afraid you'd just... slip away after we got back here. You put your sister in rehab, and it took a toll on you and Juliette. I wouldn't have been surprised if you left."

"I believe the unspoken rule is that I have to at least say goodbye," he said, turning around to face her. "You need to get off your feet."

"So do you."

"I thought I made my position on moving in with you very clear," he said, and she looked like she was preparing for another objection when he took the crutches away from her and set them aside, wrapping his other arm around her waist to keep her from falling. She held onto him tightly.

"No fair," she said, trying to keep her balance. He picked her up and carried her into her bedroom. "Really, I mean it. This isn't fair, Nico. You can't just steal my crutches if you don't like where the conversation is going—and you're the one that jumped to the conclusion about moving in. I never said we were talking about that."

"I know the way your mind works," he reminded her, setting her down on the bed. "And it is what you were leading up to, even if that wasn't what you were saying right then."

She put an arm around his neck and yanked him down. "I think your little plan has backfired on you, Nico. Unless, of course, you _meant _to be here. Now."

"With my niece asleep in the next room and your children in their rooms not far away?" he asked, amused. "Your daughter is not asleep, and she already has problems with this situation. It will acerbate things for her, you do know that."

Santino nodded unhappily. "I do. It's hard to find the middle ground. This—Nico—this is what I want. I want us. I want you. She hates the idea of it, and a part of me wants to tell her to suck it up and deal. Another part of me thinks that if I was a really good mother, I would put her needs first and not do this at all."

"That is an option."

"The hell it is," Danielle snapped, pulling him in for another kiss. He knew how dangerous this was. He knew that he had to leave. Now. If he didn't, he might not be able to, and that would not be good, for either of them. It was tempting—extremely tempting—to give in and take the physical comfort. That would be what it was, nothing more, and although he knew he was weak after a day like today, after Gabriella and the rehab center.

He pulled away from Danielle and got up. He couldn't do this, not now. He had his doubts about leaving his sister behind in that place. After what Cherise's mother had done, after what had happened to Juliette in one of those places, he knew better than to trust them. He let out a breath as he turned back to face her. "This... isn't about you. I... have second thoughts about my sister's rehab. I... don't trust those places. I knew better than to leave Cherise's mother there, and I did. Now she's dead."

Danielle sat up, their earlier distraction forgotten. "Nico, you didn't kill her. You couldn't have known the choice she would make after she went in there, and you can't know that anything will happen to your sister, either."

He shook his head. He didn't know that he could accept that. Danielle reached out a hand. "Come over here, please. I can't stop you from pacing, I know, but I don't want to try and do this with you halfway across the room."

He relented, crossing the room and sat down next to her. She pulled herself over and wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head against his. "Your sister wants to do her rehab her way. It may not ever be the way you want it to be. It may not last. It may not be the best, most reputable rehab center that's out there, but you don't know that. You have to let her make her choice. You can't control everything. For what it's worth, your sister did not strike me as the type to kill herself. At least not before she got everything she could from her husband in the divorce."

Nico laughed a little. That was true enough. Gabriella would want to get everything from Marshall. The divorce would be long, drawn out, and ugly. He knew she would expect him to work for her, to get her what she wanted. "You do realize everything will change if my sister proceeds with this divorce."

"You mean with the Hawks?" Danielle asked, frowning a little. "It's not unusual for a team to change owners, is it? If your sister gets the team, will much change? You already handle most of the day-to-day stuff, don't you? It's not like Pittman comes into the stadium, sits in that top office, and makes the decisions on what has to be done. The coach does that. Matt does that. Or you do that. And you do more than anyone."

"I do what has to be done."

"Nico... are you worried that your sister will _not _get the Hawks? That you'd have to leave the team behind to keep your loyalty to your sister? Is that it?"

"No, this was about her rehab."

"Not just about her rehab. You're too much of an analyst not to think of the bigger picture. I know that. You know that. You have to be thinking about the outcome of all of this. You know what your sister is up against better than anyone. You know what Pittman is capable of, and you know what he'll do if they go through with this," Danielle went on, her fingers in his hair. He almost reached up to stop her, but he didn't. He might actually... like it when she did that. "If your sister makes it through rehab, you'll have to face the divorce. I think that might be what bothers you more."

Nico looked at her. "What made me get up was definitely her rehab. The first night sober... it's usually the hardest."

"They did say you could talk to her. You can call. You can visit. You want to get in the car now and go there to see her? You can."

"If I do, you're not coming with me."

She twisted herself around and into his lap. "You might have a hard time leaving without me."

He smiled at her, brushing back some hair from her face. "I already told you. I'm not moving in with you."

"I've seen your place, you know. You don't have that much. I think you could move in with very little effort," she said. She reached up and touched his face. "But you won't. You're not ready for that. I may not like it, but I understand. I am probably going to keep asking, too. The thing is... I'm always going to want you to stay."

"Except for the nights when I make you angry. There will be plenty of those, too, Danielle."

"I know."

He helped her sit back up on the bed, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I need to go now."

"Tonight is a night that you shouldn't be alone," she insisted. He gave her a look. She smiled at him. "I'm not above playing the Juliette card, either. What if she wakes up in the middle of the night and needs you?"

"You're manipulating me."

She nodded a little. "Yes. I am. You hate that. So... I could try begging instead? Or maybe not begging. Maybe... this."

She kissed him again. They were quickly headed back to where they'd been before, and he knew he was letting it happen because he no longer wanted to talk. He forced himself to pull back again. "Not this. Not... now. I really should go. I know you want to help, but this... confuses the issue."

"If I promise to be a very big girl and keep my hands to myself for the rest of the night? We _have _slept in the same bed without doing anything before, and we can do it again. I really don't like the idea of you being alone right now, and... I'm clearly willing to try anything."

"So I noticed."

She tugged on his coat. "You've been doing a lot of heavy lifting today. Your sister. Your niece. Me. Your back must be killing you. Please. You have to take care of yourself, too. I think you forget that too much."

"I don't think you have much room to talk," he told her. "Now you're trying to take care of me, and that's with your children, your patients, and Juliette as well."

"I'd worry about you more if you left, so if you want to make this easier for me... stay."

"You are very stubborn."

"So are you."


	35. Concerns

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,031  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x11, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So this chapter officially puts this fic over the 100,000 word mark. Never mind what the site says, it adds my headers into the total plus random code, but now it really is. Did I expect this story to be this long? No. Have I covered everything I set out to cover? Not quite yet. Getting closer, though. Nico and Dani tried to derail me with the whole physical thing last chapter, and they should know better because they are injured and not ready for that... It's funny how about two weeks can be 100,000 words. Things may seem to be going slow, but it's all relative. Nico, for one, is far too damaged with far too many set patterns of behavior to switch quickly.

* * *

><p><strong>Concerns<strong>

"Morning, Santinos!"

Dani winced as she heard TK's voice echoing through the lower floor of her house. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she had to get him out of the house quickly. He should not be here. He knew better than this, but he really enjoyed flaunting every time he broke one of her boundaries. She started to get up, wanting to throw on a change of clothes and rush down the stairs, but then her ankle throbbed. She remembered that she couldn't go anywhere, not without the crutches or someone to help her.

She looked over at the other side of the bed. Nico had already gotten up, not that she expected anything less. He might have left the house by now, unspoken rules not withstanding. She sighed. Someone was going to have to help her—at least bring her the crutches.

"Here," Juliette said, holding out the crutches. "I could... pick out some clothes for you, too, if you want."

Dani forced a smile and shook her head. "If you could just grab the stuff I left on top of the laundry basket over there—I swear, I feel like I haven't been home in months, not days... I'm going to have to take a day and catch up, once my ankle is healed."

"I'm more of the opinion that you and my uncle should take a month off and go somewhere—_anywhere—_private," Juliette told her. Dani forced a smile. That was completely unlikely. She didn't know that Nico would ever take a day off again. It was going to be tense for a while, until his sister's divorce was final. It could be a complete game changer. "You need any help getting dressed?"

"I should be okay," Dani said, taking the shirt from Juliette and forcing a smile. She would do as much as she could on her own—and if Juliette didn't leave soon, Dani would end up asking her about Nico.

Juliette nodded. "Call if you do."

She left the room. Dressing was awkward, but Dani managed to get the pants over her ankle. The shirt was easy, but the pants had taken some doing. She set the crutches on the floor and used them to pull herself to her feet. Slowly, she made her way to the bannister.

"TK," she groaned when she saw that he had Devin with him. "What are you doing here?"

"Brought breakfast," TK explained. He gestured to the kitchen. "Come on, Doctor D. Your family helped me, Cherise, and the D man here, so we're just returning the favor to you. It's all in there. Sit down. Eat. _Enjoy." _

Dani ran a hand through her messy hair. "TK, remember how we discussed boundaries before?"

"You did me a favor. I'm doing you one," he insisted, coming up the stairs and picking her up. She yelled, loudly, but he didn't put her down until they were at the table. She sighed, then took in the food he'd brought and frowned. "Like my feast?"

"Um... TK, you do realize that none of this qualifies as breakfast food."

"It does if you eat it for breakfast," TK grinned, and Dani rolled her eyes. He really was just a big kid. He would _always _be a big kid. "Grab a plate."

"I could use a coffee," Dani admitted. She wanted to know where Nico was. Her phone wasn't nearby, so she couldn't call or text him. She glanced at Lindsay. Asking if he was here probably wouldn't go over well.

"Here, Mom," Lindsay said, setting a cup down next to her. "What happened yesterday? Did you get in trouble with the Pittmans?"

Dani shook her head. "No. No one's in trouble."

Gabriella might be. The team might be, but Dani's job was safe, and that was really all Lindsay needed to know right now. Dani smiled as she took a sip. She tried to figure out a way of handling this chaos, but she really had no idea.

"Awesome," Juliette said as she walked over to the table. "This is my idea of breakfast."

"You mean because it's almost entirely made of sugar?" Nico asked, and the edge in his voice worried Dani. She wanted to get to him, but she couldn't.

"Yo, my man, Nico," TK said, crossing over to say hello to him. He playfully smacked Nico on the back and Nico let out a curse that would have made a sailor blush. He straightened up and moved toward the door.

"Nico?" Dani asked, forcing herself up from the table.

Juliette caught his shirt and pulled it up, showing everyone the ugly, multicolored marks that covered his back. "Damn, Uncle Nico. That bruise looks worse than it did before."

He pushed it back down and forced her hands away. "Danielle, please sit down. It would seem that I re-injured my back sometime yesterday, but I don't think it's anything to be overly concerned with. I do apologize for the language I just used."

"You need to have a doctor look at you," Dani insisted. "Please, Nico."

"Only if you don't make any bigger fuss over this than you already have. This was not because of me taking care of my sister or you," he told her. He came over to her side and spoke into her ear. "I hit my back rolling out of bed after... what you would call a nightmare, and if that becomes common knowledge, there would have to be consequences."

She almost smiled at it, but the fact that his nightmares were apparently bad enough to wake him violently like that wasn't as funny as it first seemed. Was it about his sister? About leaving her in rehab? "Okay, it's a deal. And you look like hell, Nico."

He kissed the top of her head. "That is why I am going now. I have a lot to do today—starting with the doctor visit—and I need to be ready for all of that. Enjoy your morning."

Dani smiled, shaking her head, and then saw everyone looking at her. Damn it, he'd left her alone with this mess. Sneaky bastard.

* * *

><p>"Okay, I have a confession to make, Doctor D," TK said after the kids had left for school and Juliette had challenged Devin to beat Ray Jay's "cheating" score on some game, leaving Dani alone with TK in the mess that was her kitchen.<p>

"A confession?"

He nodded. "I didn't come over here just because I was giving you breakfast for letting the chicklets help out with the move. Well, and your man coming through with his niece and them security guys. Man, they can _move, _can't they? Like, if they weren't supposed to be protecting our asses, they'd have a career all out in front of them."

"TK," Dani began, trying to get him to focus on the point. He wanted to talk, and she was willing to listen, though she didn't know what she was going to do about all of these dishes or the leftover food. It was starting to bother her, seeing it all sitting there, but she didn't think she could get TK to help her and there was no way that she could do it with the crutches. "What is it you want to confess?"

"I told you. I'm not just here to give you breakfast. Not that you ate it, but I brought it. I gotta talk to you, though," TK insisted, and Dani nodded. She reached for her coffee. She was waiting. He could talk at any time.

Where was her bell? She couldn't remember where she'd left it, but she really, _really _had to do something about the dishes, and Juliette would be willing to help with that. Dani still didn't want to take advantage of the girl's need to please, but she had a mess. A mess that was distracting her. She needed someone to deal with this.

A wicked part of her considered sending Nico a text message to say they had a situation—a dish one—but since she didn't have the phone, that wasn't going to happen.

"Okay, Doc, here's the deal," TK said, taking one of the chairs and turning it around to sit backward on it, looking at her before he went on. "I think that there's some screws loose."

"In the chair?"

TK rocked on it for a second, testing the balance. "No. I meant—Doc, there are _screws _loose. Not the ones in your chair. The ones in Cherise's head. She's like... crazy. You couldn't see it in the hospital when she was all injured and doped up, but... damn, that girl is off the walls."

"Oh," Dani said, wincing. She reached up to rub the back of her neck. This could mean one of several things, but she didn't think any of them were good. "Are we talking about the way she wants her house decorated or the food she eats or something... bigger?"

He gave her a look. "Doc, she broke into my car. Broke into my apartment."

"I know she did. Supposedly, that was just to get your attention to tell you that Devin was your son," Dani agreed. She held up a hand to stop him from flying off the handle. "We know that he's not. Clearly she took that too far. We've been giving her the benefit of the doubt because of her desperate situation, but if there's more that we should know, please, tell me. Now."

He shook his head. "You know, I don't know. I mean, it's almost little stuff. Like, stuff no one would notice."

"Except you did, so... it's not that little. It's noticeable. What is going on, TK?"

"It all started with the way she took the news about her moms," TK admitted. He let out a breath. "I figured it was drugs or something, the way she just kind of sat there. She didn't react _at all. _She was kind of... off. She was like that all up until she got out of the hospital. She didn't talk about her mom, didn't really want to hear about the funeral stuff, so I ended up telling Nico to do whatever he thought needed to be done. She kept saying she'd deal with it later. She didn't want to tell Devin, so I did. He just kind of shrugged. Like... I don't know. But then yesterday, after the moving crew was gone, she starts crying. Not just a few tears, not quiet. She screams like someone's killing her, curls up in that chair, and won't quit. Just screams and cries until I finally take D away because she's wigging. We came back a few hours later, and she'd stopped crying, but she was still on the same couch."

Dani let out a breath. "Well, this could just be delayed grief. Cherise was on drugs and in the hospital. She really hasn't had time to process it. Plus, all she knows is what she's been told. Maybe at first the news wasn't real. Now it is."

"Can you talk to her, Doc? She freaked D out big time yesterday, and I'm a bit scared to leave him with her, you know?" TK leaned across the chair. "Not that I don't like the kid, but he's kind of cramping my style. With the ladies, I mean."

Dani gave him a cold look. "I am not—"

"You don't have to do it so that I can party," TK said, getting out of his chair. "The woman needs help. Chick is _crazy. _She needs someone like you to help her."

"I will talk to her," Dani said. She took a deep breath. "I'm going to have to ask you to bring her here, though, and now we need someone to deal with these dishes."

"I got just the person," TK said. "Yo, Devin! Duty calls!"

* * *

><p>The Santino girl opened the door, saw him, and shook her head, walking away. Nico assumed that was as much of an invitation as he was going to get from her, so he entered and shut the door behind him.<p>

"Did you make any arrangements for Cherise to fly back for the funeral? Or did it already happen?"

Nico frowned as he looked at Danielle. She was sitting on the stairs just inside her door, like she'd been waiting in ambush. He supposed that he should have expected it. She couldn't follow him, couldn't drive, and was stuck wherever she could get to with the crutches or someone's assistance, so ambush was her best option.

"We should find a place for you to stay that does not involve stairs."

"This is my house. I will deal with the stairs," she told him, dismissing the thought immediately. "I'm not relocating my kids and my practice and Juliette for my ankle. I'm not relocating my _life _because of my ankle."

He nodded, crossing over to sit beside her on the step. "Cherise's mother was cremated, according to the instructions I was given. She has not had a formal memorial service, though her remains have been transferred to New York."

Danielle winced. "Transferred? Never mind, don't tell me. I don't want to know. TK is worried about Cherise. It sounds like delayed grief, but it could be something else. TK, of course, says she's crazy."

"I think Terrence thinks that every female is inherently crazy, but that's another matter entirely," Nico said, and she laughed. "Are you going to see her? As a patient?"

"Yes. At least for a preliminary visit. TK will bring her by tomorrow. I can ask her about the memorial service when she's here."

"That simplifies my end of it."

Danielle nodded. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "How is your back?"

"Still bruised. Supposedly healing. A nuisance, really. Your ankle?"

She looked down at it. "I want to be able to walk again. I need to be able to move around. The dishes were all over the place, and I was starting to get bothered by them, but there was nothing I could do because I can't stand on my own to wash them. TK actually got Devin to help him do them."

"TK washed your dishes?"

"He supervised."

"Ah," Nico agreed. He looked down at his hands. "You didn't ask Juliette?"

"I would have. TK volunteered first," Danielle answered. She smiled slightly. "Juliette has been helping me. She did laundry without being asked, and after everyone was gone, she came whenever I rang. She took her medication, and she said she called her mother."

Nico stiffened. "And?"

"She didn't say much. I'm not sure what that means. You might try talking to her, since I know you were going to before you left," Danielle explained. She held up her hands when he looked at her. "Not going to ask tonight. I won't say I don't want to, but... I promised myself I wouldn't."

He reached over to touch her face. He knew there were things that he should tell her, but he didn't know how to say any of it, and he was not good with words. "About my sister's divorce... I've taken a few steps to try and prepare for the firestorm that's coming, but the team will be pulled in multiple directions and lives are going to change if this happens. _When _it happens."

"I'm not worried about my job, if that's what you're trying to warn me about. I have developed quite a practice based off of what I've done for the Hawks."

"This isn't..." Nico trailed off for a second. "You are a survivor, Danielle. I'm not worried about you or your practice because you are a good therapist and you've been recognized as such. Even without that, you found a way to keep your home and your children after your divorce, and that takes strength. Strength and stubbornness, and you have both of those qualities. You will be fine. You'll have your hands full with temperamental players who've been traded, but you can handle them as well."

"Is this about you? About not staying with the Hawks if your sister doesn't get the team?"

"Yes," he admitted reluctantly. "I have been doing this a long time, and you know that I don't know how else to be. This job gave me a way to use the skills I have without being the... person I know I can be. The person you don't want to see."

"I think you put that man behind you a long time ago. You just don't know it yet."

Nico shook his head. "He's still there. He's the one that wants to push you away... to hurt you."

She took his hand. "Maybe what you need is to take some time and find an identity separate from the Hawks. From your sister. From what you think you have to be. From trying to fix everything."

"You could be right about that."

"I think I am, but then... I'm biased."

He smiled at her and then kissed her gently. "I'm going to check in on Juliette."

Danielle let go of his hand, and he rose. This was almost too easy. He stopped and looked at her, waiting. She frowned at him. "What? What's that look for?"

"You let me go."

She shrugged slightly. "I may not always know when to back off, and I'm going to push too hard sometimes, but... I'm working on it. Trying to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. I played my hand. Now it's your turn."

He nodded. "Thank you."


	36. Papers

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,308  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x11, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: As an additional clarification, even though I mentioned it the chapter a couple times... three days have passed since the last chapter. Nothing all that major happened, no new conflicts or anything, so we can pick back up after those days have passed. And now I have covered three more things that I think needed to be in this story (you can try and spot them if you like), even if one of the scenes was an almost last minute addition. It fit. :)

Oh, and here, two chapters in the same day again. Given the temporary lull in real life drama, I'm going to try and get this finished up quickly. Almost everything has been covered... Even if not quite as I originally planned. ;)

* * *

><p><strong>Papers<strong>

This was a departure from his routine—not that he kept much of one, actually, and he was the better for it—and Nico wasn't really sure that he could explain why he'd gone out of his way this morning. He didn't have much in the way of free time, even less so after the rumors started flying about the possible split between the Pittmans the day after he put his sister in rehab. He could have had someone else take care of this, but he'd decided to do it himself.

This was likely something he was going to regret.

He scanned the grounds, looking for his target. She shouldn't be that hard to spot, but if she thought that her style was all that distinctive from anyone else in her age group, she was mistaken.

"Look, just leave me alone. We are _never _going out, okay?" a girl's voice carried across the courtyard, and Nico turned in the direction it had come from. There she was. She looked frustrated, trying to ditch the boy beside her as she hurried through the courtyard. She was heading toward Nico, so he could wait here until she got closer.

"Come on, Linds, you know you like me," the boy insisted, and Nico considered for a moment what he would have done if he'd tried that on Juliette. "We're good together."

She held a hand up in his face. "No. We're not. I don't like you. Get it through your head."

"What, 'cause I'm not a senior with purple hair?"

Lindsay looked up from rummaging in her backpack and shot the boy a dark look, slamming her hand on her bag. She turned in the other direction again. "Ray Jay!"

"Oh, now you're going to go find your big brother? You need him to protect you?" the boy harassing her kept after her, and Nico left his vantage point. Yes, he believed that the Santino boy could help his sister if need be, but he did not like the feeling he got from the kid that was hassling her. "You know you don't. Stop being so unreasonable, Linds."

"No. I don't want to go out with you. And I _don't _need my brother's protection. Ray Jay, have you seen my report? It's not in my bag."

Her brother shook his head. Nico decided he was close enough. "Lindsay."

Her eyes wide, she whirled back to look at him. Her look was half-horror, half-disbelief as she walked over to him. "What are you doing here? I haven't hardly seen you around the house the past few days—and I was kind of liking that—but now you're at my school? This is creepy."

Nico handed her the report she'd dropped in the driveway. "I happened to see this on my way out. Of course, if I shouldn't have brought it by—"

"No. Uh, thank you. I... I guess I owe you one now," Lindsay told him, clearly uncomfortable. Nico shook his head. He did not consider her in his debt at all. He looked over at the boy who'd given her trouble and back at her. She caught the look and shoved the report in her backpack quickly. "It's nothing. He's just an idiot. It'll blow over."

Nico didn't agree with her, but he knew she was a lot like her mother. "I can respect your desire to handle it yourself, so I will simply remind you that—as your mother is a part of the Hawks team—you are entitled to protection from our security personnel. If you feel at all threatened, let me know, and I will have someone at your side. I can speak to him now, if you want."

She looked back at the boy again. "I can handle him. Really."

"Very well." Nico nodded, turning to leave. Though she would hate it as much as her mother would, he thought he'd assign a team to watch the girl from a distance. He'd rather anger her and her mother over a bit of hyper-vigilance than fail to provide adequate protection for her.

"Dude, Linds, what was with the creepy man in black? Do you know him?"

"Yeah. He's my mom's new boyfriend. And if you don't back off, he'll kill you. All I have to do is ask," she said, and Nico looked back at her. She gave him an actual smile, waving. He watched the boy next to her squirm for a moment. Lindsay pulled her backpack up over her shoulder. "I said no. I meant no."

She headed off in the other direction, and her brother and his friends started laughing. Nico gave the boy a smile, watching him gulp in fear before he shook his head and went back to his car.

* * *

><p>"Okay, spill."<p>

"Jeanette," Dani said, frowning as she leaned down to check on her ankle. "I am not telling you that. We are _not _discussing that. I thought you'd hooked up with that doctor. Why don't _you _spill?"

"I had a couple phone calls. That does not a hook up make," Jeanette disagreed. She looked over at Juliette. "I can cover the girl's ears if you want me to, but you _owe _me. I called your mother, personally, and set everything straight about the photo of you and tall dark and scary. That was above and beyond, and she hates me even more now than she did before, so... spill."

"I'm not going to be traumatized if you tell me you've actually slept with my uncle," Juliette added helpfully. Dani shot her a dark look.

"I am going to find all the sugar in my house and lock it up."

"No! That's cruel and unusual punishment," Juliette cried, sounding a lot like Lindsay just then. Dani rolled her eyes. Jeanette looked around the kitchen. Normally, she'd be getting out the wine for the two of them, but with Juliette here, that wasn't going to happen. "It _is. _And Uncle Nico so stole my stash from my room the last time he was here."

Dani smiled at that. Nico really didn't know what to do with a hyper, sugar high Juliette, especially not with his back still tender, so he would have taken as much sugar out of the house as possible, even though he didn't spend all that much time here.

"Things have been kind of crazy around here, you do realize that, right?" Dani asked, leaning back in her chair. "In the past three days, I've had my hands full. I've been helping Cherise with losing her mother, TK with his role as an almost parent to Devin, and the team with the rumors about the upcoming divorce. Nico and I don't get much of a chance to talk, so when exactly would we have time to do anything else?"

"I am _so _disappointed. He said he could be creative with your injuries," Jeanette pouted, and Juliette laughed. Dani frowned at her. She shrugged.

"I told you. You're good for him. He can't admit it, and he has a hard time showing how he feels, but it's true. You _do _make him smile, and smiling is not something that he does often. I used to joke about how he always had some kind of frown on his face. Then again, he did come to visit me after talking to my parents, so that's not all that surprising. My parents... Well, you saw my mom. Believe it or not, my dad's worse. He might not _seem _like it, but he is."

"Still, that doesn't make me comfortable discussing my sex life—or lack thereof—with you," Dani said. She sighed. She had actually wanted to talk to Jeanette about having Juliette say with her for a while, but the moment she said that, both of them would jump to the conclusion that Dani was trying to arrange some alone time with Nico. Even if she was, she didn't want to discuss it. "It is not happening. We are _not _discussing that."

"Okay, so are we discussing this?" Jeanette asked, lifting up the envelope. "This _is _what I think it is, isn't it?"

Dani reached for the envelope, but Jeanette held it out of her reach. She tried to get up and get it, but her ankle still wasn't fully healed. She couldn't get a good position, and Jeanette kept hold of the envelope. "Come on, Jeanette. Hand it over."

"We should celebrate this moment," Jeanette began. "It's a big moment in the life of Danielle Santino. The end of one chapter, and the start of what is hopefully a better one."

"You don't even know what that is."

"Sounds like she thinks those are your divorce papers," Juliette said, leaving the table and going over to the cupboard, taking out a container full of what Dani would swear were brownies if anyone around here actually baked. "If you sign them, you're... free, right? So you have nothing left to hold you and Nico back."

"Except time. And her ankle."

"I thought the ankle was doing better," Juliette said. "She's been cheating and not using the crutches—right until Nico glares at her, picks her up, and carries her to the nearest chair."

"Oh, I love this man," Jeanette said, putting her elbow on her table and then head on her hand, closing her eyes dreamily.

"Too bad he's taken. _Very _taken," Juliette said, setting the brownies down on the table.

"I'd ask if he had a brother, but they clearly broke the mold with him," Jeanette went on, picking up a brownie and continuing to moon over the very romanticized idea she had of Nico. "Dani, I _need _details. When you finally get creative, _details."_

Dani snatched the envelope from Jeanette's fingers. "No. No details."

She pulled the tab, opening the envelope. She took the papers out and shook her head, frowning. "Not that long ago, Ray was pushing for spousal support. I know he dropped it, but this can't possibly be ready now. Not when he was trying to get back together at the reunion, and that was less than a month..."

Dani's phone rang, and she limped over to the handset, picking it up. "Hello?"

"Ms. Santino, this is Dennis Kennedy. I was told that you should have received the papers today. Look them over and if you have any questions, let me or one of the others on our team know."

"Just a second, Mr. Kennedy. I was under the impression that my ex-husband had—"

"As I assured you when we last spoke, we are well versed in handling contractual details. A divorce is not that far from our usual field, and the Hawks organization makes sure that the needs of its own are seen to. Otherwise..." Kennedy trailed off, and Dani wondered if Nico had ever threatened him, or if he'd done it about the divorce. Then again, she hadn't mentioned that she'd taken him up on the lawyer switch. She'd figured he'd known since she'd taken his recommendation and used the teams' lawyers, but he hadn't said anything about it. "We pressed for a quick settlement, and we got it. As long as you agree to the specified terms, all you have to do is sign the papers."

"Right, but—"

"Are the terms not what you agreed to?"

"I don't know. I haven't had a chance to read through it, so just... I'll look through the papers and call you back if I have any questions," Dani told him, pushing the button and ending the call. She cradled the phone against her stomach for a moment as she frowned at the papers. The words weren't all that confusing—she'd seen a rough draft of the agreement when she spoke to the team's lawyers, but she didn't know what might have changed, couldn't hardly concentrate on it.

"Two words, Dani," Jeanette said, crossing the room to hand her the pen. "Free. Woman."

Dani looked down at the pen in her hand. She knew that she could just... do it. Scrawl her name on there, and it would be over.

Jeanette patted her shoulder. "Oh, but we should add more to that and say... free woman with a hot boyfriend who's a bit dark and scary but a big softie who _needs _to take him to bed already."

"Ew. Gross," Lindsay said, stopping in the doorway. She held up her hands and shook her head in disgust. "I was almost starting to like that guy today, but... I _cannot_ believe I just heard that. _Ew."_

Dani's ankle started to throb again as she watched her daughter walk away. She grabbed the papers and sat back down with a sigh.

* * *

><p>"We need to talk."<p>

Nico turned and looked over at her, frowning. Danielle was not supposed to be here. As far as he knew, she'd been planning on working from her home for the rest of the week, longer, even, until the doctors cleared her ankle. He frowned at her. "They do say that doctors make the worst patients, but I didn't know that applied to therapists as well."

She looked down at her ankle and back at him. "Are you going to pick me up and put me in a chair again? I want to see your back if you do."

"At least tell me you didn't drive in here," Nico told her, frustrated. She didn't answer. "Damn it, Danielle. Do you _want _to have a permanent limp?"

She let out a breath. "Did you put pressure on the lawyers?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but if we're going to have an argument, you're going to sit for it," he said, pulling her into his office. He made sure she was sitting down and ignored the glare she shot his way. He leaned against his desk, facing her. He'd intended to talk to her about the incident at her daughter's school, but he thought that could wait until later. The boy was a bully, but Lindsay had held her own with him, and bullies were really cowards at heart. "What upset you so badly you had to come here and confront me about it? You couldn't call me, felt it had to be done in person. Whatever it is, it's big. Did something happen with Juliette?"

"Nico, don't play dumb with me. You have to have known. You know everything."

He didn't like her tone, but he wasn't really in the mood to fight with her, either. He ran through a quick list of what he'd heard about today and folded his arms over his chest. "You think I bullied our lawyers? Or what, your ex-husband's? I don't care for the accusation. I was aware that you approached the team's lawyers about finishing the divorce, yes. No, I did not interfere. If I had any hand in the way your divorce was resolved, it was because I hired the entire legal team. However, that is where my involvement ends. Did you really think that I would... what, pressure you into a fast divorce because of what is between us? I admit, I don't care for your ex-husband and would gladly do him harm, but I had nothing to do with you getting the papers today."

She looked down, shaking her head. "Nico, I—"

"I'll have someone drive you home," he said, reaching behind him for the phone. She started to get up, and he gave her a dark look. She stopped, sitting back again. She put a hand up to her mouth, shaking her head. He pushed the button for Xeno's direct line. "Xeno, I need you to drive Dr. Santino back home."

"Something wrong, Boss?"

"No, I just don't think she should be driving with her ankle, and I can't take her right now," Nico told him. He hung up the phone and looked at her. She was chewing on her nail, and he went over, taking her hand away from her face. "You understand why I called Xeno, don't you?"

"Because you're angry. You have every right to be angry," she said, shaking her head. She moaned, putting her head in her hands. "Damn it. I feel like such a _fool. _I don't even know—No, I _do _know why I accused you of that. Even so, Nico, I shouldn't have. I should have known better. I should have trusted you. I'm surprised you didn't take my head off for that one."

"I came close," he admitted. "I came close to a lot of things. That's why Xeno is taking you home. Before anything else happens."

She nodded. "I'm sorry, Nico. I really am. It's just... All this time, all I thought I wanted was for the divorce to be _over. _Done. The papers signed and processed and I'd be... free. That's what I thought I needed, and once that happened, everything would be better. Then the papers showed up today, and I didn't feel relieved. I don't know _how _I felt. It... I don't want Ray back, I know that. But I couldn't make myself sign those papers. Jeanette told me to do it, like ripping off a band-aid. Instead, I sat there for _three _hours staring at that paper, unable to put my name down. What the _hell _is wrong with me?"

"Nothing. My ex-wife used to leave me messages detailing how much she hated me and wished me dead every day while the lawyers were sorting out our divorce... and then once the final papers were served, she took two weeks to sign them," he said, shrugging. "Everyone reacts differently. You know that. There's no right or wrong way to feel about it, and don't force yourself to sign the papers before you're ready."

"Because you'll be waiting patiently no matter what?"

He shook his head. She didn't need any illusions where he was concerned. "I am not that patient."

"But you didn't put pressure on the lawyers. Other men might have done it. You could have given them one look, and they'd have done whatever you wanted," she said, looking up at him. He frowned at her. Did she still doubt what he'd told her? "Why are you so patient with me?"

"Because I'm about to send you home."

"Oh."

He smiled at her, and she made a face. Then she grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him close. "Am I really forgiven? I mean, since you're sending me home..."

"Xeno should be here any second—"

She cut Nico's words off with a kiss. He shouldn't let her do this. Not here. This was to be preferred over arguing with her, though. Somehow, though, it always seems to be the wrong time. They were fighting or hurt or having a rough night. He wasn't sure if he was trying to find an excuse or what he was really doing. He knew there was no such thing as the right time or the perfect time, though he did believe that there _were _places and times for things—this was neither the time or the place—but to really have that time or place, they were going to have to _create _it. It was clearly not going to happen on its own.

"Boss?" Xeno called, knocking before he came into the office. "I'm here to get Doctor Santino—Oh."


	37. Reactions

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,590  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x11, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: First, _Plants vs. Zombies _is awesome. And has absolutely nothing to do with the kind of lateness of this chapter.

A part of me thinks that I should dedicate this story to my sister, who although she has never seen the show has provided me with plenty of inspiration. I love you, sis, but like Nico, I am so damn sick of this cycle.

* * *

><p><strong>Reactions<strong>

"So, you got busted?" Jeanette asked, laughing. Dani shot her a dirty look. She was as bad as Juliette was when she got on sugar. Without wine, though, she'd done the same thing as Juliette, and the two of them had been almost delirious when Dani got back to her kitchen. The brownie container was empty, and so were two bags of marshmallows, a package of chocolate chips, and leftover candy canes that were probably years old. That was only what was still on the table. There could have been more.

"Not busted. Xeno works for Nico, not the other way around," Dani said, rubbing her ankle. She'd really pushed it today, and she shouldn't have. She needed to let it heal. "But, yes, it was awkward. _Very _awkward."

"Is Xeno like Nico? Tall, dark, and scary?"

"Jeanette!"

"What?" Jeanette asked, drinking from a soda can. "I can dream, right? I want my own tall, dark, and scary."

Dani rolled her eyes, grateful that Nico had gotten a call that had pulled him out of the kitchen right away and that Juliette had joined the kids in the living room for some video game that she insisted Lindsay play. Whatever it was, they'd had a debate over it being _cute _and a _girl's _game ever since Nico put it in his niece's hands. He'd been sneaky again, just like the other day, had to have known that the game would have that effect on her.

He got his call, uninterrupted. Dani got stuck with the mess. Again. Considering what she'd accused him of earlier, she wouldn't blame him for a getting a bit of revenge by leaving her the mess. She let out a breath. She really needed—they really needed—a break. Time alone. Together.

Of course, Dani had to figure out what she was going to do with the damn papers first. She couldn't leave them shoved in a drawer forever. Her kids were bound to find them, and she had to talk to them about it before they did.

"Jeanette, I was wondering if you would be interested in having Juliette stay with you for a little while," Dani began. Her friend's eyes got big.

"Are you planning what I _think _you're planning?" Jeanette asked, excited. She clapped her hands together. "Oh, I am so there. I love Juliette, and I'd have her stay with me anyway, but if it means you and your man getting a little action, then I am _in. _Ray has the kids this weekend, right?"

Ray had the kids when Dani was in the hospital—was that really only a week ago?—and it should be her weekend with them, but... with signing the papers, maybe they'd want to be with their father. Or their friends. She didn't know. She was going to have to talk to them. She didn't know what she was going to say. She had to tell them about the papers, about the fact that her marriage to their father was... over. Completely. The papers made that official.

"What's that look?"

"Not sure I'm ready for this," Dani admitted. Jeanette gave her a look. "I know; I know. You like Nico—or this _idea _you have of him—and you think that I'm way past ready to take the next step with him. What Nico and I have is very complicated, and it always seems to get pushed aside to handle some new crisis, but then when I think about how long we've actually been doing this, it's not as long as it seems. Just... crazy. And when I think about the fact that I just got the papers—I know that I went out and jumped into bed with Matt, but that wasn't me. It was... It was jumping headfirst into the deep end of the pool that is my new life. I _had _to do it all at once, like ripping off tape or a band-aid. This, with Nico... It's not the same. I want it to last. I don't want another one night stand with a lot of almosts and maybes and regrets. Matt and I... Maybe it could have been something more. It... wasn't. I don't want that to happen with Nico. Both of us have way too much at stake here."

"Honey, every time we open up to love, it's a risk. It's huge. It's bound to be messy. Blood, tears, it all happens along the way. I should know. I've been divorced three times. I have found love, but I don't know how to keep it. You... You're better at that than me, even with how much you two fight."

"It's only been a few weeks. We've only been... dating for a little over one of those weeks. This is... I don't know. I push too hard, and I push too much, and today I accused him of interfering in my divorce. I got lucky. He didn't take my head off. He had every right to."

"Oh, sweetie," Jeanette said, coming over and hugging her close. "You're mixed up right now, and that makes sense. For me, it's simple. You're free, you move on, and you take this new man and new life and embrace it with everything that you've got. I know that it's not that simple for you. Don't put any pressure on yourself. Not now. You need time to figure out how you feel and what you're going to do. You know what we should do—and you can still take some time away _whenever _you want—but tonight... Tonight is a girl's night. We're going to have a slumber party."

Dani pulled back and looked at her. "It's okay, Jeanette. You don't have to stay."

"Sure I do. We both know that a certain special someone is not going to," Jeanette said, touching Dani's face. "Besides, who better to be with you as you go through your first divorce than me? I'm going to make popcorn. Can I borrow some pjs?"

"Sure," Dani agreed. She started for the door, and then she stopped, turned back and grabbed the pen off the counter. She pulled the divorce papers out from where she'd stashed them earlier and signed her name to them. She let out a breath. "Oh, damn, I feel sick."

Jeanette came up behind her and hugged her again. "It's going to be okay. It really is. But I think we'll wait on the popcorn."

Dani let out a shaky laugh. "I can't believe I did that."

"Did what?" Ray Jay asked as he walked into the kitchen. He went toward the fridge, took out a bottle, and stopped, frowning at them. "Mom, you okay? You look kind of... off."

Dani didn't know what to say. "I'm..."

"She signed the papers, sweetie," Jeanette explained. "Big step, and she's kind of feeling it."

"Jeanette," Dani hissed, elbowing her friend as her son dropped the bottle on the floor. She'd meant to prepare both Ray Jay and Lindsay for this—_tomorrow. _After she'd had time to process it herself. She was not ready for this.

"You signed the papers?" Ray Jay repeated. "So... you and Dad... completely... done."

She nodded, though it was not nearly as simple as those words made it sound. "Yes. Except the completely done. We're not married anymore, but I'll still talk to him, still have ties to him, because of you and your sister and because I did love him."

Ray Jay picked up the bottle and looked at it for a long moment. "You sure you want to tell Linds? I think she's gonna wig."

"I'm going to tell your sister. We'll all sit down together, okay? I don't want you to feel that you can't talk to me about this or that you can't... This _is _big, like Jeanette said. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel. We'll get through this together. The three of us."

"Hello, five," Jeanette corrected. "Unless... I don't get my slumber party and should take Juliette with me now?"

Dani looked at Ray Jay. He shrugged. "I... don't know. I guess we should see how Lindsay reacts first."

* * *

><p>Dani wasn't sure why they all found this particular game so amusing. As far as entertainment value went, she really thought that there were dozens of other video games that would have been more fun to watch, but for some reason, they were all in the living room, cheering on Lindsay and Juliette as they worked as a surprising team to drive back the zombie horde. Normally, with a "slumber party" like she and Jeanette were supposed to be having, they'd be watching so-called chick flicks and drinking bottles worth of wine. It was an adjustment, having a dry house, but it hadn't been bad. Not really.<p>

"Butter, now! Put butter on that one," Juliette cried. "The big one, not the one with the cone!"

"I'm trying. Put one of those cabbage things over there," Lindsay said, pointing to the screen frantically.

Dani looked over at Jeanette. Her friend pelted her with popcorn. Ray Jay grabbed a handful from the bowl and sat back. Dani smiled. "I think I figured it out. It's not the game. It's watching them play it."

Ray Jay laughed, shaking his head a little. "They _are _pretty entertaining, but took you long enough to figure that one out, Mom."

Dani made a face, but she had to smile. The night was still going better than she'd expected, especially after the revelation that she'd signed the papers. She'd sat down with Ray Jay and Lindsay, told Lindsay what happened, and gotten a blank stare for a good twenty minutes before Juliette interrupted—walking in and pouting dramatically because the zombies had eaten her brains and completely derailing the conversation. Still no screams, no hysterics, no _I hate you, mom _followed by door slamming. Juliette had offered Lindsay the controller, and that was pretty much it for the night. Dani expected to hear something tomorrow, when the shock and denial had worn off, but she _liked _this. She shouldn't. Lindsay and Ray Jay—even Dani—weren't dealing with how they really felt about her signing the papers, but they were getting along for a change, and that... That was priceless.

The doorbell rang, and Dani started to get up. Jeanette held up a hand. "I'll do it. You stay where you are. No more abusing that ankle, okay?"

Dani sighed. She waited until Jeanette had left before she got up herself. She caught Ray Jay's look and held up a hand. She was fine. Really. It wasn't that bad. It wasn't broken, after all, just sprained, so she'd be fine. She limped to the doorway and then to the table, taking hold of it to steady herself as she saw Nico in the doorway. She hadn't really expected it to be anyone else.

"I should just give you a key," Dani called to him, and he frowned at her again. No, she might not have been in trouble because Xeno "busted" them, but she _was _in trouble with Nico, at least. "So you don't have to knock? You wouldn't have to stay. You're welcome to, of course, as long as Juliette is here, at least."

Jeanette forced a smile and ducked past Dani as she went into the living room. Dani frowned after her and turned back to Nico. It wasn't like she objected to being alone with Nico, but Jeanette didn't have to make it so obvious. "Really, a key would make things simple."

"I could have picked the lock, but ringing the door bell is polite."

She gripped the table harder. "Okay, yes. I thought after the whole accusation-freak out thing and then the kiss that Xeno walked in on and then the phone call that you were... done for the night."

"Unfortunately not."

"Unfortunately?" she asked, watching him cross the room to her. Was he about to pick her up again? No. Not going to happen. She didn't need to be carried. "Nico—Wait a minute. Why do you smell like a brewery?"

He held up a hand immediately. "I'm sober."

She winced. She actually hadn't thought of that. Even before she knew that he was a recovering alcoholic, she just didn't picture Nico and a lot of beer and drinking together. It didn't fit him. "It wasn't—I didn't accuse you of anything this time. I swear."

He shrugged, dismissing it like it was nothing when it really wasn't. "It would be a logical assumption. I may even be slightly affected by the amount that's currently on my clothing, but I didn't drink anything."

He walked past her, and Dani shook her head as she followed him into the living room. He looked at the tv screen and the two girls arguing over what they needed to do to pass survive the zombies and shook his head. "Juliette, I need to talk to you."

"Just a second, Uncle Nico. After the level's done."

He looked like he wanted to tell her no, but he slowly nodded. Dani sat back down next to Ray Jay and Jeanette. Her friend gave her a look, and Dani shook her head. She didn't know what was going on, and she was trying not to freak out again. Yes, now that he'd mentioned it, a part of her _did _doubt that Nico was only wearing the alcohol, and she didn't like that part of her very much. She watched the girls finish, high-fiving each other and laughing. Nico looked surprised to see them getting along.

"Wow. I think I could get high off your coat, Nico," Juliette told him. She plugged her nose and waved a hand in front of her face, but the humor died quickly. "What happened to you? Don't tell me you threw away fifteen years. Please?"

He shook his head. "I didn't. It was thrown at me. That's not important, though if I'd realized it would be this much of a distraction, I would have stopped to change. It was already late, so I had decided not to delay further, but I should have."

"Nico, what happened?"

He sighed. He glanced toward the others in the room and started to move away again, but Dani rose again, and his niece caught his arm. He lowered his head for a moment and then looked at her. "Juliette, your mother... She left rehab."

Dani winced, sitting back down. She knew that Nico hadn't been very optimistic about it, but they'd all kind of thought that with the divorce, Gabriella would last longer than this.

Juliette shook her head, fighting tears. "I don't understand. I thought she had to stay. I thought she really would do it this time. She said she wanted the divorce. It should have kept her sober. It should have."

Nico put his arms around his niece. She leaned against his chest, curling her fingers in his coat. "It's not _fair. _It's not. It... I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. I should have _known. _I should have listened to you. You were right."

He combed his fingers through her hair. "I wanted to be wrong. I really did."


	38. Support

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 5,578  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x11, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Long chapter again. It's just having so many things that I want to cover and wrap up properly, and this is where it leads. Well, and then there was some much needed comic relief, but I know that I am very close to reaching where I wanted to be, no matter how many detours the characters took along the way. :)

* * *

><p><strong>Support<strong>

"How is she?"

"Asleep. Everyone is. The day took a lot out of us," Dani told Nico, looking over the cleaned up but still worse for wear version of him that stood before her. After he told Juliette about her mother, he'd walked her upstairs and sat with her for a while, talking in a low voice and rubbing her back. Dani's kids had kind of looked at each other and somehow everyone decided it was bed time. "Do you always carry a change of clothes in your car?"

"Not always, but it has become increasingly more useful, so I think it will be a policy from now on," Nico admitted, running his fingers through his wet hair. Dani reached up to push it down instead of the way he usually styled it and studied him, trying to assess how she felt about that look. "I had almost forgotten what it was like to get dirty like that. Alcohol... It doesn't like to wash off. Maybe that's just me. Maybe I can smell it the way that smokers always smell cigarettes."

She leaned up against his chest. "I don't smell anything. Maybe a bit of soap. It smells good."

"Thank you. Please get off your ankle now."

She sat down again. "It is so annoying being stuck in one place, Nico. I keep needing to move, and I can't, so then I do too much. I know—I should never have gone to the stadium today. I didn't—the last thing you needed today was me showing up and accusing you of messing with my divorce."

"You had no way of knowing that my sister would leave rehab, Danielle. You can't blame yourself for that. As for the accusation—"

"It's something someone who doesn't know you. I could have made it when we first met because I didn't know you then, but I do now—as much as I can—and I _know _better. I know you didn't do that. I knew, but I didn't stop myself. I am really sorry."

He touched her face. "What you said to me does not even compare to my sister's words. I know why you might have thought I would do it, and there was a part of me that wanted to handle that for you. You told me specifically not to get involved when the court appointed observer was there, and I stuck to that."

"I signed the papers," she blurted out, and he looked at her. She nodded. "Yes. Technically, I'm a free woman. Which... I should have been before we started this, but life just doesn't work the way it should, and I'm still waiting for the other shoe, you know, because Lindsay and Ray Jay took the news too well."

"You could use something going easily for a change."

"But it doesn't fit my daughter. I'm not sure I know what's going on in my son's head right now," Dani admitted. She shook her head. "It is going to be different in the morning. Signing the papers changes everything. And nothing. And I don't even _know. _I am so confused about what to think or feel. I just need—"

"A break," he said, giving her a half-smile. She loved that smile. She really did. "You would say that I need one, too."

"You won't take one, though."

"Juliette took her mother's relapse hard. I think she may have hoped that if she could do this, her mother could, too, and she has to wonder if she can do it. She already drank once, and now that her mother has given up..."

"I know," Dani said. She'd come to the same conclusion that he had. He wouldn't leave. He couldn't walk away from Juliette. He might want to do that with Gabriella, but he couldn't. He'd gone to her and gotten alcohol thrown at him for his trouble. "My kids are going to need time to come to terms with the papers. _I _need time. I don't..."

She blinked, trying to force back the tears. Nico drew her close, wrapping his arms around her. She shook her head. As much as she wanted to let him hold her, to take comfort from him, he needed it just as much as she did. Someone should be holding him. He'd already held Juliette, and if what he was saying was true about what Gabriella had said to him, then he probably needed this more than she did.

She lifted her head. "Nico, you don't have to take care of me. I love it. I love being held by you. I love how strong you are. But you don't—you're hurting, too, and I was a part of doing that to you. You can be there for a person without taking their abuse."

"Like you?" he asked, looking down at her. "You took far more from me than you ever should have."

She put her head back down. "We just need a night of peace, a day when nothing happens. I don't know—that's impossible, isn't it? We don't get days like that, do we? With all you do for the Hawks, for your family—"

"You and your family. TK. Your patients. The Hawks."

"You listed TK and then my patients."

"TK is outside the normal sphere in pretty much every case," Nico reminded her. She nodded. That was true. She knew that if there was one thing that TK was good at, it was bringing the crazy. He did make them laugh—when she wasn't wanting to pull her hair out.

Dani heard a knock behind her, and they both turned to look over at Jeanette. She smiled at them. "Hey, lovebirds. I didn't want to interrupt, but since I don't think we're having quite the slumber party we were going to have—"

"Jeanette, you don't have to leave," Dani began, turning around but not leaving Nico's side. Jeanette shook her head, holding up a hand.

"Let me finish. I didn't say I was necessarily leaving. I just wanted to say that you _can _have a break. As much as I know it'll break Dani's heart, her kids are probably going to feel the need to be close to their father right now. The papers sent this message that he's done and gone, and that's not true for them. Let Ray take them for a few days. I'm not thrilled with the guy because of what he did to my best friend, but he's still their father. Dani already asked me about doing something with Juliette, and I was thinking that the best thing for her right now is a change of pace, a reward, a reason to keep herself sober... and a bit of retail therapy. Just a little. I want to take her on a bit of a spree."

Nico shifted behind Dani, and she looked up at him as he nodded thoughtfully. "I can give you access to a limited amount from the Pittmans' personal accounts if you can assure me that it won't be spent on any drugs. No alcohol. No parties."

Dani's eyes had to have been as wide as Jeanette's. "Really?"

"I never wanted Juliette cut off from the money. I was always more worried about what she'd do to get a hold of the drugs, and usually it was as bad as I feared. I made sure she had a place to live and arranged for a grocery delivery so she wouldn't starve, but I couldn't give her any money knowing where she'd spend it. I don't know if I was helping or just enabling, but I didn't want Juliette to become like her mother before she—Just promise me that the money will be monitored. Once you hit the limit, that's it. I won't authorize any more than what I'm going to give you."

"I was going to spend my money, but hey, I like spending other people's money more," Jeanette said with a grin. "Dani, kiss him for me. That is so sweet."

"Not really," Nico disagreed. Dani put her arm up around his neck but hesitated, letting him finish. "A lot of addicts trade one addiction for another. Juliette does it with sugar, but she used to do it with shopping, too. Frankly, I'd rather her be addicted to clothes than the alternatives."

"Even the sugar?" Dani asked. Nico gave her a look, and she pulled him down for a brief kiss. "What about you? What did you replace your addiction with?"

His only answer was another half-smile.

* * *

><p>"You had a slumber party and didn't invite me? And what about my man D?" TK demanded, giving Balzarini a long look as he took in her pajamas. Balzarini had declared that she was making breakfast, and the kitchen was soon covered in pancake mix. Other than her cheek, though, she had managed to avoid it. Of course, that was the cheek TK chose to sneak a kiss on. She laughed as he got a bit of floury mixture on his lips and made a face. He recovered and gave her a big smile. "I want to be a part of the next one. What about you, D?"<p>

"Can we play games all night?"

"We almost did," Juliette said, reaching across the table for the butter with a smile. "Lindsay and I have one level left—with Doctor Zomboss. We'll get him. I can do it on my own, but it should be easier doing it coop, right?"

"You don't need me to do it," Lindsay said, shaking her head. "Besides, you don't really want to have a sleepover with him, do you?"

Nico looked up from his coffee. "It is a bit much to assume that I was here all night."

He had decided that mornings at the Santino house were like watching chaos in the flesh. With the addition of Ms. Balzarini into the mix, the house was full, again, especially now that TK had made another early morning visit. The kitchen had been quiet only a few minutes ago, when he sat down with his coffee to wait for Danielle and Juliette to rise, but it seemed like someone had flipped a switch and everyone was awake and in the room within minutes.

"Nico, you got to be the craziest one here if you _didn't _stay," TK muttered, shaking his head. He pointed at Danielle. "You're a damn lucky man, and you should appreciate what you've got there. A fine woman who loves you."

"Terrence," Nico began, shooting him a dark look. He did realize that talking about Santino's sex life in front of her children was completely inappropriate, didn't he? No, because Terrence King had the common sense of a five year old. "This is not a conversation we are going to have, now or ever."

"What, there some rule against you having a good night and some good loving?"

Lindsay bolted from the room, and Nico glared at TK. Danielle started to get up, but Ray Jay held up his hand. "I'll go talk to her."

"I'll help," Juliette added, following him out. She stopped, turned back, and grabbed Devin. "On second thought, I think I'll show you a game where the violence is all cute and cartoon. Nico—he's a football player. Go easy on him."

Nico considered the things he could say to that, but she had pulled Devin from the room before he settled on one. TK frowned. "What is going on? What's with the running? And the looks?"

"I think you know, Terrence," Nico told him. He turned to Danielle. "Would you like to handle this or should I?"

She pretended to think about it. "You should."

"Dani!" Balzarini cried, and Danielle shrugged, giving Nico a slight push. He started to get to his feet.

"Okay, Nico, really, I didn't mean anything by it, and I don't—easy now, you're supposed to _protect _the Hawks assets, not hurt them," TK said, holding up his hands in protest. "Uh, Jeannie, you want to help me out here?"

Balzarini looked at him. She gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, honey. You're cute and fun, but you need to learn to watch what you say. The kids all had a rough night last night, and this was really _not _the time."

TK turned desperately to Santino. "Doctor D! Come on, please! Don't let him hurt me."

Nico looked back at her, though if he had really intended to harm TK, nothing that she could say would have changed his mind at this point. He had to admit that he was tempted, but if he gave in to every time he was tempted to do TK harm, the man would have long since been dead.

"I can't look," Danielle said, ducking her face behind her hands. "Just tell me when it's clean again. And when everyone's gone."

TK took another look at Nico and ran from the room.

* * *

><p>"Mornings around here are exciting," Jeanette said, giggling after TK had left the room. "I should come over more often. Of course, that would mean I'd have to get up before ten, and that's a crime against nature."<p>

"You're up before ten now," Dani reminded her, trying not to look at the kitchen. It was a complete disaster again. Maybe even worse this time. "I think I need new locks and a security system and—why is it that anyone can get into my house, Nico? Where is your paranoia there?

She watched him as he stopped to refill his coffee. "All the security measures in the world can't protect you if you open the door—or one of your children does. Technically, he was invited in. Maybe the children felt they needed him to keep their minds off of the events of last night."

Dani nodded. She let out a breath, reaching up to rub the back of her neck. "I should really talk to Lindsay. She hasn't said a word about me signing the papers, and that does not feel right. I keep expecting hysterics."

"You can't predict how she's going to act," Jeanette told her. "Tall, dark, and scary, can you get out some plates? Or—no, I take it back. I was going to go tell them that breakfast is ready, but you should do it. Scare them right to the table."

"No one will have an appetite," Nico warned her, and she shrugged. Dani rolled her eyes. "Very well, I can make sure they all sit at the table, but I have my doubts as to whether or not consumption of any food will occur."

Jeanette smiled at him as he left the room. She took some plates out of the cupboard and brought them over to the table. "I want one of those."

"You could have TK," Dani told her, and Jeanette laughed. "What? I think he's taken with you."

"Maybe. And he's cute. But he's got a lot to work on, and I'm not really looking for someone like him. I don't want to have to wait for him to grow up. I did that with Rudy, and it never happened. I'm not doing it again," Jeanette insisted, going back for the pan. "I can handle being alone. I've got you—and now Juliette. She's like my... lost twin or something. I just love that girl to pieces."

Dani smiled. "You've been great for her, Jeanette. I don't think you have any idea what you mean to her or how much you've helped her."

"She's worth it," Jeanette said, putting the first finished pancake on a plate. "She's so sweet under all that damage, and I love seeing that side of her. And did you see her handle Devin back there? That girl's got sense. She might not use it all the time, but who does?"

"Not you," Dani teased, and Jeanette made a face. She turned back to the stove as the room got loud again.

"Pancakes from the lovely Jeannie. This I can't wait to try," TK said. He caught their look and shrugged. "I'll be eating. My mouth will be too full to cause any more problems. Word of honor, ladies."

"Oh, cool, you made them in funny shapes," Devin said, looking at the plate on the table. He sat down in the chair, and TK handed him the syrup. "Thank you, Miz Jeannie."

Jeanette grinned and kept cooking. Dani shook her head. Her friend was working overtime to help, and she didn't have to. She wasn't really a part of any of it, but she still cared enough and had enough strength left to pick up the pieces that Dani and Nico couldn't. Jeanette was a woman in a million and a good friend, and Dani owed her more than she could ever repay.

"Pass the syrup," Juliette said, drenching her pancakes in the dark liquid. The plate was more syrup than pancake, and Dani didn't miss the look on Nico's face when he saw that. She smirked, but he ignored it and went to get his coffee.

"Uh, Mom," Ray Jay began as he sat down at the table, looking at the pancake in front of him suspiciously and then over at Jeanette. "Linds and I were thinking that maybe... Maybe we could go to Dad's this weekend? I know it's not his week, but with all that's going on, we just kind of..."

"I understand," Dani said, and her heart did ache when she looked at them. It was hard any time she sent them to Ray's, but this time was different. This was after she'd signed the papers. She knew that it was for the best—they needed to be with their father and remember that he was still a part of their lives even if he wasn't married to Dani anymore, and she also knew that if she was going to get a break from everything that was going on, the kids needed to be taken care of. She didn't want it to be Ray, but he had never been a bad father to them, only a bad husband to Dani. "No, I agree. You should go. You should spend time with him. Why don't you give him a call and make sure he doesn't have work or anything, and you can go there after school today?"

"Who are you and what did you do with our mother?" Lindsay asked, sitting down next to her brother. She glanced over at Nico, and Dani rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Mom. I just... need a couple days. The weekend. It's just... different. You're not married anymore, and that's a lot to wrap my head around."

Dani nodded, reaching over to squeeze her daughter's hand. "I know."

Lindsay gave her a slight smile and picked up her fork. She was about to take a bite when she her phone beeped. She took it out and frowned at it. "Gross. I think I lost my appetite."

She pushed the plate away and started to leave. Nico got in front of her, holding out a keychain with a small black box on it. "Here. Though I thought you handled the situation yesterday very well, if he's still bothering you or you need help, push the button. Someone will be there shortly."

She took the chain, studying it for a second, and then looked up at him. "What happens if I push it now?"

"Then you're stuck with me. And I'm certain you're familiar with the story by Aesop," Nico told her, turning to pick up the coffee he'd left on the counter again. Lindsay closed her hand around the key chain and smiled.

"Thank you."

"No fair," Ray Jay said, mouthful of pancake. "I want one."

Nico took a second keychain from his pocket and tossed it to Dani's son. Ray Jay held it up with a grin. Dani looked at Nico and curled a finger at him. He stayed where he was, taking a sip of his coffee. "It's seven-thirty."

"We're going to be late again," Lindsay cried, rushing out and up the stairs for her bag. Ray Jay shoveled another bite in his mouth, waved to TK, and took off after his sister.

Dani looked at Nico. "What was that all about? With the keychains?"

"We can discuss that later," Nico said. He picked up the discarded plates and took them over to the sink, rinsing them off. Dani sighed. Clearly, he wasn't going to tell her anything until he was ready, and she didn't like it. She didn't want to fight about it—and the man _was _doing her dishes, at least as far as putting them in the dishwasher.

Devin finished the last bit of his pancakes. "Oh, hey, Doctor D, did TK tell you I start my new school today?"

"No, he didn't," Dani said, forcing a smile for the boy. "That's exciting. You don't want to be late, though, so maybe you and TK should hurry?"

TK looked up from his pancakes. "You kicking us out, Doctor D?"

"Just keep an eye on the time, TK," she cautioned. She really was ready to have an empty house again, and she knew that she'd probably never get a boundary back in place with him now. "It's a big day for Devin, and Cherise isn't with you, so you should probably go pick her up first."

"Oh, I didn't think about that," TK said. "Come on, D man, we gotta go get your moms."

Devin climbed out of his chair and followed TK out of the room. Dani leaned back with a sigh. That took care of TK and Devin and Lindsay and Ray Jay, but the room still felt crowded. She knew that was only because Nico was holding out on her. She didn't really want Juliette or Jeanette to go.

"Nice," Juliette observed. "You're almost as sneaky as my uncle."

"What? I didn't—"

"You're not fooling anyone, sweetie," Jeanette said, finally sitting down with her own plate. "It's important for Cherise to be there, sure, but you wanted TK gone from the moment he walked in. He did make things crazy and even a bit funny, but after last night, I think you're just tired. You still need the time to deal with the whole signing of the papers thing."

"You're probably lucky that TK didn't say something about you and Nico now that the divorce is done," Juliette agreed, reaching for her juice. "Like now the two of you can get married."

Dani choked on her coffee. "We've already been through this—"

"Relax," Juliette said, looking over at her uncle. His back was turned to them, so Dani had no idea what his reaction to that statement had been. "I don't recommend marrying into this family. Ever. Even if you love my uncle, don't. It's gotta be some kind of curse, right? You might end up a drunk like the rest of us."

"Juliette—"

She put her glass down and got to her feet. "What, Nico? It's not like Dani doesn't know. All of us from the Careles side, we have issues. Most of them with alcohol. I'm surprised we don't all beat the crap out of kids like Grandpa and Great Uncle Nick did—though I thought your uncle did it sober. It's why you go by Nico instead of his name even though you were named after him."

Nico took a deep breath. "Juliette, I know your mother's choice hurts. It always will. Disappointment... hurts. Don't do this. Lashing out at me is only going to make you feel worse later. I should know."

She bit her lip, looking like she was going to cry. Jeanette got up. "Hey, sweetie, I wonder if I could talk to you about something. See, I'm thinking of taking a little trip, but I don't like traveling by myself, so maybe you'd like to come with. I need a woman, after all, since this is about fashion..."

She put an arm around Juliette's shoulder and guided her out of the room. Nico leaned over the counter and sighed. "I'm starting to think your friend deserves hazard pay."

Dani let out a strangled laugh. "You could put her on staff. Or give her Xeno's number."

"Xeno?"

Dani winced a little, thinking of that moment in Nico's office. Xeno was probably not a good name to mention right now. "She thinks he might be like you. And she wants a man like you for her own. You don't have a cousin or... Never mind."

"Even if I did, we're too much trouble to be worth it," Nico said, pushing away from the counter. Dani watched him for a minute, wishing she was closer. She wanted to help him, wanted to help Juliette. Her children. Herself. She felt so damn helpless right now. She couldn't do anything for anyone. "Did you sleep last night? You look... tired."

"I'm the one that stayed. You didn't. Did you sleep?"

"I'll take that as a no," he said, crossing the room to her. "You need to rest. You can't help everyone when you're run down."

"Do you ever take your own advice, Nico?"

He kissed her forehead. "Rarely."

* * *

><p>"Where are we going?"<p>

"Are you worried that you'll end up at another building that should have been condemned and injuring your other ankle?" Nico asked, looking across the car at her. She let out a breath and looked at him somewhat guiltily. That answered that question. "I can promise you that this particular location is up to building code."

"But you won't tell me what it is?"

"It is... a place where I believe you can clear your head," he told her, and she frowned a little at the vague answer. He knew that she wanted him to come out and say it, but he did not really want to, knowing that it would ruin the effect. He had selected this place out of all the Pittman Group holdings, a long since forgotten venture that only remained part of their continued holdings for its tax write-off value. It was a place, he thought, that suited her in some ways—yet would challenge her as well.

"Nico, you made Jeanette give you _every _single detail about where she was taking your niece and when and who they'd be with," Danielle began. "It's really not fair of you not to disclose any details about where you're taking me."

"That is different. Juliette is a recovering addict. You are not. Other than your somewhat reckless care of your ankle, you can be trusted on your own," Nico began, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Juliette needs a stable environment and someone who will keep away the type of people that she seems to attract. I have come to appreciate your friend's value and I am grateful to her for what she has done for Juliette—but there was no way I could let her go without getting as much detail as possible. I worry every time I leave the room without her. In the past, I have kept her under surveillance. I'm paranoid. I want to control things. I have been over and over everything I did with my sister and tried to avoid making the same mistakes with Juliette. It's not something that just... shuts off. There are reasons why I don't take days off. I don't find cutting these ties easy or simple. A part of me feels that if Gabriella has left rehab, then I have no business being anywhere but close by her."

"You can't always swoop in and save her. Maybe if you don't, it will be the wake up call she needs."

"You can hit rock bottom and still not see it."

Danielle frowned at him. "You're worried. I mean, of course you are. I just... Do you think her husband's going to use this relapse against her, use it to his advantage and divorce her, taking everything?"

"He would never get everything, not without a prenuptial agreement, and I made sure that she didn't sign any of those," Nico explained, taking the turn off to the dirt road. She reached up for the handle above the door. He knew that she'd been in a race car with Billy Rhodes. Surely this was not as bad. "You pointed out a fact that I believe my brother-in-law has come to recognize over the years."

"That you're invaluable to the Hawks and the whole Pittman Group, right?"

"Yes," Nico agreed, though he felt a bit uncomfortable with the term. "He will prepare as much of the legal end that he can, but he knows the minute he acts against my sister, I'm out. That threat will hold him back until he has someone he feels can take my place. In the meantime, he'll try and keep me where I am for as long as possible."

"You sound very certain of this."

"He offered me co-ownership of the Hawks as an incentive to remain with the organization when my sister left him."

Danielle stared at him. "I—Wow. Nico, do you have any idea how much the team is worth?"

He nodded. "Of course. But no matter how much it is, it's not enough for me to turn my back on my sister or my niece."

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to say that you should. I'm just... stunned."

"When you're as rich as Marshall Pittman is, money is a commodity easily offered and too often leveraged. I have seen a considerable amount exchange hands, usually ensuring a silence that should not be bought," Nico admitted. He turned into the long driveway and continued past the trees and the first buildings on the lot.

"Where are we going? Did we just pass the house?"

"Yes, and the garage. There's something I think you should see first," he explained, stopping the car at the end of the driveway, near the storage facilities. He frowned, not certain about the last time they'd done maintenance on them—they were pretty much vacant and forgotten these days. "We'll stay out of those buildings, though. They might not be in as good a shape as the rest of the facility."

"This is a facility?" she asked, frowning. He got out of the car and walked around to her side, opening the door for her. He helped her out and led her forward, supporting her ankle until they reached the fence. "This... isn't what I'd call a facility, Nico. Farm, maybe or ranch or something... It is beautiful here. So... open. And remote. Definitely remote."

He turned her toward the north. "There. I hoped they'd be in one of the close fields. This time of year, they do tend to stick closer to the buildings, even though they don't use them."

She stared, watching the herd as they raced across the hill and down close to where the two of them stood. The ground shook, and the sound was like thunder. She almost reached out a hand to touch them, but drew it back. They were not close enough and were going far too fast for that. "Are they... wild horses?"

"Yes. A while back, Marshall got it in his head he was going to breed racehorses. He had this place purchased, built to his specifications, and then took a hit in the stock market. The place was sitting empty until Gabriella read about the wild horses. The herd was too large and having trouble finding grazing land. Some of the locals didn't like it, had even killed a few of them," Nico shook his head at the memory. "She came to me in tears, told me we had to do something about it, and the land was given over as a nature preserve."

"Your sister saved these horses?"

"I think that woman might be long gone by now, Danielle, and I didn't bring you here to show you another side of her. I wanted you to see the horses themselves. They're strong, beautiful, intelligent creatures. Like you. I thought this place was the best choice. The house has no stairs, easier for you with your ankle, and here you can take time—uninterrupted time—to sort out how you feel about the end of your marriage."

She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you, Nico."

The herd disappeared over the ridge. "Come. We'll get you settled in the house."

"Wait. You're not planning on _leaving _me here, are you?"


	39. A Roller Coaster

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,648  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x11, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: We pick up... right where I left off. I have been assessing this carefully, and I think that, given the set up I've worked on for the past few chapters, the end is truly in sight now. Probably... two chapters, depending on where I break up the next few events. It'll be nice to have this wrapped up, at least as much as it can be. :)

* * *

><p><strong>A Roller Coaster<strong>

"For a few hours, perhaps, but not for the length or purpose you're implying," Nico objected immediately. He shook his head, looking out to where the horses had disappeared from sight. Dani waited. She needed an explanation. Now. She couldn't believe that he was going to do that to her, but then she didn't know what to think right now. Sometimes Nico could be almost _too _thoughtful, in that he thought he knew what was best—to push her away. "Danielle, the idea was for you to have some time to think. This isn't—the idea was to let you have time alone. There is no staff here on a permanent basis. The house is cleaned once a week and the grounds maintained, that's all. It would be irresponsible of me to leave you here on your own while your ankle is still healing. I wanted you to have time to—I didn't bring you here so that we could—We have come too far to jeopardize this by jumping into bed together just because you're a 'free' woman. The other reason I selected this place was because the house is large enough for us both to be here without pressure from the close quarters."

Dani let out a breath, shaking her head. She couldn't believe she'd done that. She'd overreacted. Again. She couldn't seem to stop right now. "I did it again. And you were in the middle of doing something incredibly thoughtful for me. I am such an idiot. You're right. I didn't want to—I _do _want to be with you, but you have a point about the jumping into bed thing. You know I did that once, and I didn't want to do it again. I was—oh, god, I was freaking out _about _that and I still got upset about the idea of you leaving."

He looked at her, smiling sadly. "Quit beating yourself for being so perceptive. I _was _planning on leaving. I need to go back into town to speak to the caretakers and pick up some supplies. I wanted you to stay here while I took care of that. In that sense, yes, I was leaving you here."

She made a face. She didn't want to be left behind. "Nico, if you need to get us groceries, I should go with you."

"You can make a list," he told her, taking her back to the car. "It'll be easier for me to do what I need to do if I go alone, and I think you should take some time to adjust to being here. You do seem rather... agitated. You're not experiencing prairie fever, are you?"

She elbowed him, but she didn't hit him hard. "No. It took weeks of isolation for people to reach that point of mental breakdown, and we've only been out here a few minutes."

"You don't like the idea of being out here alone, though, clearly," he said, opening her door for her. She sat down, glaring at him. "Is it the distance from 'civilization' as you're accustomed to it?"

"I can live my life without shopping malls and coffee bars and convenience stores, if that's what you're asking," she answered as he walked around the car. She shut her door, but it didn't quite slam like she'd wanted it to. She could survive the outdoors. She wasn't that hopeless of a city girl. What would he know about this kind of life? It wasn't like he was some kind of expert, either. He'd been raised in Pittsburgh and lived in New York—oh, but then she was overlooking his SEAL training. He had been trained to survive remote and hostile conditions. "I'm surprised you're willing to be out here. What about all of your toys? The phone, the tablet, the laptop? Aren't they going to be useless out here?"

"Mobile broadband," he reminded her as he got in the car. She rolled her eyes. He started the engine and drove them up to the house. She was able to get a good look at it this time. Now she could see it—that expensive stone instead of brick, the patterning of the roof tiles, the lawn sculptures—this place had been built by someone who had more money than practicality. It was a gorgeous house, really, but it didn't belong here.

Nico parked the car in front of the house and got out again. She continued to look around, taking it all in. It _was _beautiful, not completely tasteless even if it was somewhat of an anachronism. He helped her out of the car and walked her up to the front door.

Dani blinked as she got a look inside. It was like she'd stepped into a painting of a country house, only the type that belonged to generations of wealthy and influential families. Above the fireplace was a painting of the family—Dani's first look at Marshall Pittman—where Juliette was barely a teen. She had darker hair then, a stronger resemblance to her mother and uncle. Had the girl been trying to make that go away... or had the artist exaggerated it?

"I thought they didn't use this place."

"A few years ago, the family was photographed here. Some piece on the quiet life enjoyed by the very rich."

"Does it ever bother you that your sister has this much money?"

"We grew up without it," Nico began. "It wasn't something I ever thought was that important, but Gabriella thought that it would solve everything and basically sold herself to the highest bidder when she could. She traded her beauty for a lifetime of imprisonment in an unhappy marriage. The money didn't change anything."

Dani sighed. He moved away, stopped, and then he took her with him to the next room. The kitchen looked like it had been built for a professional cook—she supposed that it should have been since the Pittmans had to have someone who did that for them. "My kitchen suddenly feels very small."

"I think that has more to do with the occupancy than the square footage."

She nodded. Considering the crowd that they'd eaten breakfast with this morning, she didn't disagree. "I suppose we should make the list."

"It can wait," Nico said. "We'll finish the tour of the house first. You can choose a room, familiarize yourself with the layout, and then I will run the errands I need to take care of."

That was what _he _thought. She let him guide her into another room, but at the same time, she was figuring out how to outmaneuver him. She didn't intend to let him go without her. "Let me guess. This was Juliette's room?"

"For the photo op, yes. She took one look at this one and refused to go in. She took the 'guest' room and forced her parents to share one for the first time in years," Nico went on, smiling a little as he moved them to the next doorway.

"This isn't a bedroom. Okay, yes, I'm sure I needed to be able to know where this was, but..." Dani trailed off, staring at the jacuzzi tub that looked like it was made out of high quality marble. It was huge, big enough for more than one person, but that bath was all hers. She ran her hand along the edge of the tub. "You know, a person could drown in that thing. Does it do that massage thing? I bet it does."

"Should I be jealous now?" he asked, amused. She looked back at him, laughing. She sat on the edge of the tub and tried to keep her hand from turning on the faucet. A bath sounded really good. A bubble bath even better. It had been hell trying to do a shower with her ankle, and she could have tried a bath before, but this one just _called _to her.

"No, but I think I'm okay with you leaving me alone for a while."

He smiled back at her. "Under the sink. Gabriella's bath stuff should all be there."

Dani grinned.

* * *

><p>Nico set down the groceries on the counter, frowning slightly as he did. The errands had taken longer than he expected, and he was hours later than he had planned on. He would have expected her to be waiting in ambush for him, again, as usual. He walked to the edge of the room and called out to her. "Danielle?"<p>

He got no response. He didn't know if she was sleeping—if she was, he didn't want to wake her. He doubted she'd gotten much rest the night before, up worrying about her children and him and his niece. She should rest. He checked two of the bedrooms and winced when he realized that she had to still be in the bathroom.

If she wasn't answering him...

He pushed open the bathroom door. "Danielle?"

Silence, except for a slight lapping of the water against the edge of the tub. The jets weren't running right now. He looked down at her. Her eyes were closed, and she was far too still for his liking. He reached over and shook her shoulder, gently at first but then with more pressure as she didn't stir.

"What? Nico?" she asked, frowning as she stirred. Relieved, he turned to find her a towel. "I think I fell asleep in there."

"You did," Nico agreed, not really wanting to think about the conclusion his mind had jumped to when he first saw her in the bathtub. She had been asleep, but she looked more like she was dead. "That can be dangerous."

"I'm fine. Just groggy," she said, taking the towel he held out to her. "Nico, are you... What's wrong? If it's a problem with seeing me naked—"

"You are a beautiful woman with an equally beautiful mind," he told her. "I am not at all uncomfortable with that."

"But you can't look at me right now."

"Being respectful is not the same as fear of the naked human form," he said, shaking his head. He did not want to discuss the other reaction he'd had. "If you _want _me to stare, I suppose I could, but I was actually looking for you since I brought back dinner."

"You are so embarrassed. It's cute," she said, and he frowned as he looked back at her. She had wrapped the towel around her and was trying to get out of the tub. He moved over to help her, steadying her for a second. She looked up at him with a shy smile. "Thank you."

He nodded. Now, of course, he was incredibly aware that she had nothing on but that towel. Water was running down her skin, dripping from her hair. "I'm going to make sure that it doesn't get cold and put away the rest of the groceries. You can dry off and get dressed."

She hesitated like she might disagree with him for a moment, but she ended up nodding. "Pass me another towel for my hair, please?"

He gave her one before leaving the room. Walking back to the kitchen, he tried to get a hold on the emotions circling in the wake of the last few minutes. He'd gone from fear that she was gone to something completely different, and he needed to sort them out. His reaction to her loss shouldn't have surprised him that much—they had a connection. They were dating, if not yet physically intimate, and he knew that she'd said something that suggested that her feelings went deep, deep enough to be love. He had never done much analysis of his feelings—never wanted to—but that moment when he thought she had succumbed to the bathwater... He couldn't lose her. That much was clear. She had gotten in when he hadn't wanted anyone to, despite all of his attempts to keep her out, and he knew that it was dangerous for both of them. She should have let him push her away. He should have said no.

Then again, the emotions might still have been there beyond that.

He went to the counter and took the food from the bags, storing them away for later use. He had already dealt with the refrigerated items before he went looking for her—he wasn't entirely sure whether that was good or bad. In light of the fact that nothing had happened, it seemed fine, but if she _had _been drowning, then he shouldn't have delayed anything.

He shouldn't have left. Period.

"Nico?" she asked, and he turned around again. This time she had on a set of her loose pajamas, the kind he always caught her in when he showed up late at night. That was a relief. "What's for dinner?"

"Sit down. I'll get you a plate," he told her. "I know we brought your crutches, so—"

"So I'll use them tomorrow," she finished. "We're just having dinner. I'll be sitting for that. Not a big deal."

He shook his head as he dished up the plate for her, carrying it and a set of silverware over to the dining table. "You should take better care of yourself."

"And you should take your own advice," she said, picking up her fork. "You've got to be just as tired as I am, Nico. But you never seem to sleep."

He got his own plate and sat down with it. "When I was younger, nights were... difficult. We were always waiting for my father's latest rage. Sometimes he'd get set off just seeing us sleep. I got used to watching over Gabriella, to sitting up and listening for the front door to open, for the sounds that told me what mood he was in. Then, when I joined the Navy, it was about watching for the enemy. Always being on guard. Now it's phone calls at any time of the night. I learned to get by with very little sleep. I do sleep when I get the chance, but I can't actually remember sleeping through a whole night in years."

"Because of the hyper-vigilance or the nightmares?"

"Both," he answered. "That's why you should have the master bedroom, the better bed. I won't hardly use the other one."

"You should."

"I'll try, but I'm not going to promise you anything."

* * *

><p>She had more or less expected Nico's admission that he didn't sleep, but that didn't mean that she liked it. She wanted to be able to give him the kind of peace of mind he needed to sleep through the night, but after all he'd been through, the way he'd trained himself to do it, she doubted that there was anything she could do. Be there for him, help him build good memories—though with the way the two of them could fight, even that was somewhat debatable. She sighed.<p>

She went to reach for her drink and realized that she didn't even have a glass. That was no good. She sat back, and then he was on his feet, going to the cupboard again for glasses. He got them each some water and returned to the table. She took the glass from him with a smile.

"Thank you."

"You would have gotten up for it yourself in a second," he said, going back to his food. She was reminded of what Juliette had told her about their time at the penthouse—about being surprised by seeing her uncle eat, and Dani had to wonder if there was something to that, something deep rooted like with his sleep habits.

She decided not to push. That was a question that she didn't really need answered, and as long as he was with her, he did seem willing to eat. That would have to be enough. There was something else that she thought she'd rather ask him about, though she didn't think it would go over any better than the other question. It could wait, at least until after dinner. They could have a nice meal, and then... then it would be time to deal with the elephant in the room.

"So... about the keychains you gave my children earlier. You said you would explain later. It's later," she began, and Nico nodded. He reached for his water glass and took a sip.

"Yes. It is. They are, essentially, panic buttons," Nico explained, and Dani stared at him. Why did her children need _panic buttons? _He reached over and touched her hand. "It is an extra precaution. I think I am probably overreacting, but I always try to err on the side of caution. Lindsay has been... hassled by a boy who thinks that they should be dating. She disagrees."

Dani frowned. "I... I don't—she didn't say anything to me."

"She wants to handle the situation on her own, much like you would. I did think she held her own against him, but as he may have failed to get the message she gave him yesterday, I had a security detail added to both your children and gave them the keychains. This should blow over, but I would not have felt right if I failed to protect them."

Dani pushed aside her mostly finished plate and got up. She needed to move. "My daughter has a stalker and you didn't _tell _me?"

Nico rose and put his hands on her shoulders, guiding her over to the couch. "I learned of the situation yesterday morning. I _did _delay speaking to you about it. I was going to address it that night, but then—"

"I showed up at the stadium, accused you of meddling in my divorce, Xeno walked in on us, we came home, you got a call—about Gabriella, I assume—and I signed the papers," she said, shaking her head. "We really don't get a break, do we?"

He sat down and pulled her down with him. "This _is _our break, Danielle."

She let out a breath. "I don't know that we're getting any kind of break right now. You showed me the horses, and I freaked out. I took a bath, and _you _freaked out."

"I was not embarrassed."

"I know. I figured it out. You were scared."

He frowned at her. "That's a very confrontational approach, Dr. Santino."

She winced at the change of address. "You're right. It put you on the defensive. I'm sorry. It just... I was toweling off my hair earlier, and I realized I'd assumed the wrong thing again. You didn't—you were worried, not ashamed or embarrassed or anything like that. I didn't even think about that when I got into the bath."

"Nor did I, but I was gone for longer than anticipated," he said as he started to get up, but she grabbed hold of him, trying to stop him.

"You're not... blaming yourself, are you?"

"Must we do this? I don't even know why I jumped to that conclusion, and you are clearly fine, so it is not something that needs to be discussed further."

"I can't promise you that I'll never leave you. It's unrealistic, and you'd just get angry with me for trying," she said, and he frowned at her again. She shook her head. She didn't want to fight. She really did want this break, time to sort out both of their heads. "I won't do that. I have to fight not to tell my kids that—they don't ask me as much these days, though with the divorce I did have to reassure them—and I know that's what I _want. _I want to promise that I will never leave. The promise can only go so far as I would never _choose _to leave, but I can't control all of life, can't say that I won't get hit by a bus tomorrow or something like that."

"Are you promising _me_ that you won't choose to leave?"

"I _want _to. I want to make that promise," she admitted. "Nico, I... From what little I know of your past, everything I learn about you, I want to be that person that never leaves you, the one that doesn't abandon you, the one who can be strong for you so that you can have one moment when you're not being strong for everyone else."

"You do realize you need the exact same thing."

"Maybe that's what makes us right for each other—not that we're one more person to be strong for—but that we're able to be 'weak' with each other. You don't have to be strong for me because I already know you're strong, and you know I'm stubborn."

He leaned back against the couch, and she put her head on his chest. "I do want to make that promise, Nico. I want you to feel like you can breathe, like you can take a break just for a moment. That you can be human. I don't want to be a nag or push you, though I do like challenging you because you challenge me. This is the most equal relationship I've ever been in in my life."

"But I know everything about you and you know little of me. You said so yourself."

"I'm enough of a therapist to read between a lot of your lines."

He laced his fingers in hers. "So if I told you to take better care of yourself and not fall asleep in bathtubs...?"

"Yeah, I love you, too, Nico."


	40. A Moment

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 5,836  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x11, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Well, again, I jammed a lot into this chapter/day, but I got it to end where I wanted to, and that makes me incredibly happy. Now to see if I can wrap it all up after this or need an epilogue...

* * *

><p><strong>A Moment<strong>

"You cook?"

"My father certainly didn't and my mother wasn't there, so someone had to," Nico answered, and Dani looked over at him. She knew, of course, that he'd been up for hours already, since someone had put her in bed after they'd both dozed off on the couch and the dishes from the night before were actually cleaned up, but she hadn't expected the cooking. Or that revelation, though it should have been obvious with everything else he'd let slip about his past. "I don't need pity. I'll never be a chef, but I can make passable food. Go sit down."

"You don't have to wait on me hand and foot just because of this ankle. Really. I need to do a few things myself or I'd go crazy."

"I don't try and dress you, now do I?" he asked, and she looked at him again. Oh, she shouldn't say it, but... she couldn't stop herself.

"No, but you could _undress _me."

That stopped him, right in the middle of flipping the eggs. She bit her lip and tried not to laugh. It wasn't often someone got the better of Nico, and to stop him, leave him with nothing to say. It was a priceless moment she wanted to savor.

He finished the flip and reached for a plate. "Are you aware that there is currently a very large betting pool regarding the two of us?"

"What?" she asked, completely thrown off. He put the plate in front of her, and she blinked. Food. Right. Wait. Explanation first. "What betting pool? And... why?"

Nico wiped his hands on a dish towel and picked up his tablet, carrying it over and setting it down beside her. Her mouth opened in disbelief when she saw the list. _What Nico and Doctor D are doing right now. _Some of them were absurd, some of them were obscene, and some of them made her blush. "Am I reading this right? The odds are in favor of you _proposing _to me?"

"Actually, the odds are in favor of me 'knocking you up,' but proposing comes in at a close second followed by eloping," Nico corrected, giving her a cup of coffee. "Don't drink that while you're reading. I don't want to have to replace the tablet."

"What is worse than what I've already seen?"

"Each of the leading candidates has another pool. If we get married, how long it will last. If I did propose, how long before the wedding? If you're pregnant, boy, girl, or twins."

She shook her head, her fists clenching. "You have my permission to kill them all."

He laughed. "Is that all it takes to get permission?"

"Nico, our personal lives are the subject of multiple betting pools. And the pots, from what I can tell, are thousands of dollars worth. I thought it was bad when Jeanette's photo went out, but this? This _is _worse. They've got bets on whether or not we're using the karma sutra. Please tell me that my children cannot see this."

"The site requires a credit card to confirm that the user is over eighteen and the pool is not open to the general public, but I am afraid that I can't guarantee it."

Dani moaned. "Someone kill me now."

"I wouldn't let anything happen to you, Danielle," Nico said quietly, and she looked over at the intensity of those words. She knew he meant it. She'd found herself a man who'd die before he let anyone get to her, and the people who did this would regret it. "I am not... I will handle that once I find out who started the pool and everyone that has participated in it."

"I know you will," she agreed. "I just feel... humiliated right now. Exposed."

Nico sat down next to her. "Whereas I am angry. Dangerously so. I don't like my private life being their entertainment."

"Do you think this is TK?"

"I think he had a part in it, though it's difficult to say how much of a role he had. The team has adopted his practice of calling you Doctor D, so that doesn't necessarily implicate him, but there is no way that it's going on without his knowledge," Nico said. He looked at the tablet again. "I wonder, though, how they would expect to know who won this pool. It's not like you or I would tell them."

"So... it's... what, someone close to us? Are you thinking this is one of my kids or Jeanette or Juliette?"

"Either that or they think they can get information from one of those sources. TK might believe he could get it from Balzarini or your son," Nico said, shaking his head. "While Juliette is many things, she would not be a part of this—not in this way. I can see her making a private wager with Balzarini, but not organizing a bidding pool. Not after the paparazzi has done so much to ruin her life."

Dani sighed. "I can't believe this is happening. And if we do happen to... We'd be winning someone's bet for them."

"I am not going to dictate my behavior by someone's bet," Nico rose again, going to the counter and picking up his coffee. "No one would know what we did besides us, so no one can win that bet. Besides, the whole thing will be shut down shortly."

"Unless..." Dani began. "Unless we pretend we know nothing about it and mess with them by... posting something to Facebook or twitter about what we're doing that has _nothing _to do with any of those options in the pool."

"Unlikely that anyone would believe it. You and I do not use those sites."

"True," Dani said, but she didn't like the idea of letting this go. Something had to be done about it, a payback of some kind, and sticking them with a bet no one won would only be the start. Nico could threaten them and hurt them, but the bet needed to be responded to, a nice bit of _screw you _to all of the people betting on her personal life. "But Jeanette does."

"If she's not involved."

Dani stared at him. She thought that Nico respected her friend. He'd entrusted his niece's safety and well-being to her. Why would he change his mind? This betting pool? Really? "You really think she would be?"

"I'm suspicious as well as paranoid, Danielle. I don't trust many people, and it doesn't take much for me to have doubts," he admitted, taking a sip of his coffee. "I could even be wrong about my niece."

Dani pushed the tablet away. "I think that we need to put that and your phone away for the rest of the time we're here. And we _are _going to do something that's not on their damn list and we are going to have it posted, and _I_ trust Jeanette. I'm going to call her and have her post it."

"And what, exactly, do you have in mind for this picture?"

"You _did _take me to a nature preserve with wild horses..."

* * *

><p>"Well, the horses are no-shows, so... back to the nature walk?"<p>

Nico looked over at her. "You should be resting, not walking."

"I'm going to go stir crazy and kill someone if I have to be inside, in a chair constantly. I'm being as careful and as patient as I can, Nico, but I can't sit still forever," Dani insisted. She knew that she worried him—that he wanted to put her somewhere safe where she couldn't get hurt again—but she couldn't live a life covered in bubble wrap or locked up in a plastic bubble. She wasn't going to break. "I need to do this as much as you need to find the people who started the bets."

Nico's eyes went to the field. "Not too much longer. You can post pictures of us playing Monopoly or something after this."

"Really?" Dani asked, having a hard time believing that he'd suggest that. He did not seem much of the board game type. Then she frowned. "Why do I suddenly get the feeling that you'd kick my ass at Monopoly?"

He shrugged. She held up her phone again. The way the light was hitting him right now made for a great picture, his face half in shadows, like the man he was. As she took the picture, she frowned at the shadow behind him. Wait, no, that wasn't a shadow.

"Nico, behind you..." Dani began. He glanced at the horse and moved, putting himself in between the animal and her. She made a face. "You're blocking the picture."

"It's a wild animal, Danielle. There is no way to predict what it might do, and your ankle puts you at a disadvantage," he reminded her, and she rolled her eyes. She almost agreed with the last part. She couldn't run if the horse spooked, but she didn't think it would. She also didn't think he expected the mustang—she wanted to call it the black stallion even though it was not an Arabian—to walk right up to him and push at his hand.

She knew that he was going to hate her for this, but there was no way she could _not _take a picture of him with the horse. "I think he's asking you for something, Nico."

Nico nodded. "It looks like one of the caretaker staff might have been feeding the horses, in which case... they're going to have to be let go. The horses _have _to fend for themselves. That is the reason that this preserve exists. On the other hand... this one looks like he's not doing so well. Younger or weaker stallion, driven from the herd. On his own, kept from the better grazing land. I'll need to make a call."

"For what?" Dani asked, not wanting him to move and ruin the moment. She turned the phone to take a video, watching as Nico's hand reached out to touch the mustang's nose. His hand went up to the horse's ears, and he started moving around, examining the horse carefully.

"Sometimes the mustangs are... 'sold.' It's a very complicated process, takes years, and the owners have strict rules to follow if they are ever going to obtain the ownership papers. In the meantime, the horses are extremely well cared for," he explained. He took his phone out of his pocket. "I'll make the call, get the process started."

"Now?"

"Better now than later. He's not in a condition to wait. I'm also going to get the local vet out here," Nico said, watching the horse carefully. "I really don't like how comfortable he seems with humans. This is not good—for him. Are you coming inside now?"

She shook her head. "I'll wait a bit. You go ahead and make your calls. I'll sit here, like a good little girl, and enjoy the nature all around me. I've got our new friend to keep me company."

Nico frowned at her, shaking his head before he picked her up. She wanted to object, but at the same time, she didn't. She was in Nico's arms, and that was _not _a bad thing, not at all. He smelled good, and he protected her. He hadn't said it in words, but he loved her. That made this—as controlling and overprotective and maybe even possessive as the gesture was—worth it.

"You don't have to do this, you know. I would have been fine with the horse. I don't think Shadow was going to hurt me."

"You named the horse?" he asked, shaking his head with disapproval. "You should not get attached. It is not staying."

"You mean _he _is not staying," Dani corrected. Nico looked down at her, and she shrugged a little. "The horse is male, isn't he? And as much as I like being in your arms, you're not really going to carry me all the way back to the house, are you?"

"No. I'm not, but I was also not going to leave you alone there. The horse is not the only issue, and you are not going to be outside alone until your ankle is healed. If me carrying you the whole distance is an issue, I am certain that you trying to walk it would be worse."

She sighed. "Fine. I really just want my ankle to heal so I can do normal things again."

"Then stop walking on it all the time."

* * *

><p>"So, you got the pictures? And you posted them?" Dani asked, thinking that Nico was probably going to kill her for the last one and the video. He knew she'd taken it—at least he knew about the picture. She'd seen him look up after she did, but she couldn't resist taking that photo when she saw him with the mustang. It was something unexpected, something amazing. She didn't care if someone else had started it by feeding Shadow. The horse had walked right up to <em>Nico, <em>of all people, and been friendly with him.

"Yes and yes, and damn, I hate you even more now," Jeanette said, laughing to take the sting out of her words. "I'm kidding, sweetheart, but it's just not fair that he's gorgeous, mysterious, and has a way with animals."

"And cooks and cleans. The man _is _ freaking myth," Dani agreed with a laugh, taking out Nico's tablet and messing around with it until she'd brought up Jeanette's Facebook page. She flipped through the nature walk pictures—not that there were many, but what got her attention was the caption on the last one. "'Dark horse horse whisperer?' Jeanette, are you _kidding _me?"

Nico was going to kill her. She was a dead woman. She really was. He hadn't really liked the idea of posting anything to Jeanette's page, and she knew that he didn't completely trust her friend. Now that the photo was up, it would be back to square one for them. She sighed.

She hadn't heard Nico in a while, and that probably wasn't a good thing, either. He was around, somewhere, since he'd gone back out when the vet got here by himself, and she thought she'd heard the vet leave but he hadn't come back. He had taken care of all the calls he needed to make, but a part of Dani hoped that they wouldn't be able to take Shadow away just yet.

"Juliette liked it," Jeanette said, and Dani smiled a little. Juliette was not the least bit scared of her uncle, though. It wasn't that Dani was _scared _of Nico. She wasn't. She was terrified of losing him, though, and his reaction to the pictures was not going to be a positive one. Maybe she could distract him from the photos for a while. Probably not.

"How is she?"

"Having a blast. She actually got not one but _two _offers for modeling jobs."

"That's great."

"Well, she wasn't quite as flattered as I would have been, I have to say," Jeanette reported. "She asked them if they liked the way she looked because they thought she had an eating disorder or because they knew she was an addict. As they tried to come up with an answer, she walked away, telling them that they weren't going to get her to tell _anyone _that they should look that skinny."

Dani smiled. That was a change from the opinion that Juliette had voiced on her first day sober, but it was a good change. "That is great, Jeanette. Tell her I'm proud of her, and I think her uncle would be, too, not that he's here—not in the room—for me to ask."

"Have you two had sex yet?"

"Goodbye, Jeanette," Dani said, ending the call. She shook her head. She loved that woman, she really did, but she was not going to discuss that, not even with her best friend. Especially not after the betting pools. It wasn't that she didn't trust Jeanette. She did. Jeanette had done what she asked with the photos without even knowing why, but the whole thing left Dani feeling too exposed. She didn't want to discuss her private life with anyone.

She looked down at her phone again. She'd held off for long enough, and she was going to give into that mom urge now. She dialed Ray Jay's phone—he was more likely to pick up—and waited.

"Hey, Mom."

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"We were just going to get some popcorn and watch a movie. No worries," Ray Jay answered. "Although... Um, well... Lindsay accidentally hit the button her keychain earlier and the guys came and were going to beat the crap out of Dad, I swear."

Dani winced. "Nico explained why he gave those to you two, but I thought that he would have warned his team about your father."

"Well, they definitely know now. They got chewed out on the phone. Dad's pissed, but I think Lindsay was actually _happy _about it. Hey, Linds. Come say hi to Mom."

Dani heard the phone switch hands. "Mom. Hey. Did you really go somewhere with wild horses because Jeanette's got this photo up on Facebook that can't possibly be real?"

"It's real. It was incredible. The horse just walked up to Nico and asked for food," Dani told her. "Nico said someone must have been feeding it before we got here, but it was still something I can't believe I saw. I'm glad I have pictures. And a video."

"Cool."

"I'm surprised you're not saying something about animals not sensing evil."

Lindsay laughed. "You know, that button he gave me is pretty cool. Those guys got here _fast. _They're good, too. I mean, they shouldn't have scared Dad like that, but if those are the kind of guys he keeps around... Well, he's gonna keep you safe, right?"

"And you, too?"

"He told you about that? It's nothing, Mom, but Ian's not going to do anything to me with the guys your guy has around. Trust me. I showed him that video, said if the boyfriend's guys could do that to my _dad, _imagine what they'd do to him. He hasn't messaged me since, so I can thank your scary guy for that," Lindsay said, laughing a little. "Dad's pouting, though. He wanted to be the big scary guy and chase off the boys."

Dani laughed at the idea of Ray doing that. It was so childish, but so very him. "Everything's okay there? You're not—"

"Planning on moving in with Dad while you're gone?" Lindsay finished. "No, we're good. It's been nice to have some time with Dad, though. It's good that you took a trip, too. You looked like you were having fun in those pictures."

"I was," Dani agreed. She'd almost expected to be bored, but Nico's near photographic memory had helped them stay occupied as they went around the preserve. He knew things that fascinated her, and he was willing to explain all of them as they wandered around. Not only that, but she just enjoyed being in his company. Here, away from everything, he was less guarded, didn't have the same need to maintain that persona that intimidated people and kept them at a distance.

"So, Mom," Lindsay began, and Dani wondered what was on her daughter's mind. The boy? Nico? Her father? The divorce? "Am I too old to ask if I can have a pony?"

Dani laughed.

* * *

><p>"How did it go with the vet?"<p>

"He'll be back in the morning to take the horse to his clinic," Nico answered, turning away from the stove to look at her. She had been busy while he was occupied, and he had to admit, the idea of taking her phone had crossed his mind more than once. "I have been called many things, Danielle, but never a horse whisperer."

She winced. "Sorry. I asked Jeanette to post the pictures, but I didn't specify the captions. I guess I should have. I'm lucky you love me, right?"

He took a deep breath. "You have managed to damage the reputation I spent years carefully cultivating, and I won't say I'm not angry about it. No one would have dared create a betting pool like that only last year. Now that there are pictures of me with animals, this will only get worse."

"We can fix that," she said. "Just because you're good with animals doesn't mean you're any less scary. We can get you something scary to keep as a pet."

"What am I supposed to be now, Crocodile Dundee?"

"You've seen that movie?"

"I don't sleep. I've seen and read a lot of things that would surprise you," Nico reminded her, pointing her to the dining table's chair. She sat down, watching him. He had spent the better part of the afternoon and evening away from her, first making the necessary arrangements for the horse, then dealing with the vet, and lastly because he was afraid he'd lose his temper if he was around her. He didn't want to hurt her, but again, the consequences of her actions and their effect on his reputation were not to be taken lightly. She joked about him needing to be scary, but what he had really become was a subject for ridicule, and that was intolerable.

"Nico, really, I don't think it's—Look, even if the horse picture has you a little _less _scary, Lindsay totally used a video of you—well, your staff—being badass scary to deal with her problem, so you can relax a little."

"My sister got me a cat."

"I hope it's a black one."

"This is not funny."

She bit her lip. "I really don't think it's as bad as you think it is. If you act a little human, you might scare them even more when you yell next time."

"I shouldn't _have _to yell. That was the point. It used to be that all it took was one look. Silence. Cowering. Apologies," Nico told her. She didn't know how difficult this was going to make his job, and he wasn't sure she cared. She didn't like that he ruled by fear, but he knew that his methods were effective. She could be the one the team turned to when they needed sympathy and support and all the things that Nico was not, but someone had to stand for the side of discipline, enforcing the harsh consequences. The men on the team were in many ways still children. She could mother them if she wanted. Nico's approach was different.

And probably far too much like his father's.

He shook his head and left the room. He had no appetite, and he was not in a good state to talk to anyone. He heard her get up, but it took a while before she actually reached the living room.

"Okay, what was that? You left the stove on."

"I think I am entirely too much like my father."

"I think I'm like my mother. It happens, whether we want it to or not. We have models—we imitate them without meaning to, but we still have a choice _not _to."

"It occurred to me that you... mother the team. And if you're the mother—"

"You're the father," she finished, nodding. "Makes sense."

"Especially when you add in the rule by fear," Nico muttered. He rubbed his forehead. "All these years telling myself I wasn't like him, but I am. I'm worse than him because at least he didn't try and fool anyone about what he was."

"Nico," she said, reaching up to touch his face, turning him to look at her. "Even if I have never met your father, I can tell you that you can't possibly be worse than him. Because you _care. _You take care of everyone, and that nurturing—even if that's not what it seems like most of the time—runs completely counter to what your father did to you and your sister. Underneath all the mystery and the darkness is a man who has a huge heart. You are a fixer, yes, but a caretaker, too. You use different methods, but you and I... We do the same thing. You have done so much for everyone, and what's more, you did things your father _never _did. You may have a problem with alcohol, but you got yourself sober and you stayed that way. You got your niece sober. You won over Jeanette and both of my children—no small feat, not with Lindsay. And...you got me to love you. A man that can do all that is not all bad. Give yourself some credit, Nico. Have you ever hurt anyone like he did? Ever hurt a child?"

"No. Never."

"You're a protector," she went on. "You know how to hurt, and you'll make threats, but you only do it as a last resort. When someone's in trouble. You help them. And remember, everyone needs a kick in the pants sometimes. You can't make it so that there are no consequences. If people don't feel consequences for their actions, they'll do it again. If you want a child to stop picking on the cat, sometimes they have to get scratched."

"Again with the cat."

She looked up at him and smiled a little. "A big cat. You've got to be like... oh, what's the one that camouflages itself? Or am I getting confused? They're all pretty stealthy, right? But you'd have to have a black one. That would only make sense."

"I don't want a cat."

"And if I dressed up for Halloween as a cat...?"

He frowned at her. "You're changing the subject."

"I'm trying to get you to smile again. The image of me in a catsuit is funny, right? I don't think I could pull it off. Spots or no spots. What about a tail? That would be interesting. Would it be long or short, like a minx or like—"

"Danielle," he began, shaking his head at the absurd twist the conversation had taken. Now he had a picture of her in his head that he did not know that he could get rid of, and he was going to have a hard time keeping that one back every time he looked at her. "Please. Stop."

"Only if you promise me you won't keep punishing yourself."

He didn't really know how to make that promise, so he didn't. "We should finish dinner now."

* * *

><p>"Nico?"<p>

He looked up from the work he was doing his laptop and frowned as he saw her in the doorway. "I thought you were asleep."

"I was," she answered, crossing over to him. He wondered what it would take to keep her off of that ankle for the rest of the time it needed to heal, and he didn't like that he was leaning toward tying her up or breaking some other bone in her leg. "Someone put me in bed again."

"We have to stop falling asleep on the couch."

She sat down on the edge of the bed. "I don't mind, not really, but I bet it's killing your back."

He'd resorted to taking a few of the over-the-counter medications that were in the bathroom, but he didn't see the need to mention that to her. He could deal with the aches. They would fade. They always did. "What woke you?"

"I don't know," she admitted, pulling herself across the bed until she was sitting next to him. "Maybe I just didn't want to be alone."

"You can stay with me, if you like," he offered. "I've already... slept for the night, so I won't be falling asleep again, but you are welcome to stay. I'm not doing anything that interesting right now, either, but when I got done with this I was planning on doing some reading."

"More Ken Follet? You're not going to read it aloud just to put me to sleep again, are you?"

"The World War II ones are better," he began, amused by the way that she'd gone right for that. She had been reading one the other night—and had fallen asleep with it still on her lap. She didn't seem very impressed with the man's work, though. He doubted that he could change her opinion.

"Is this what you do every night?"

"Back in New York, I tend to travel more, but, yes, I do this on a regular basis. I keep track of... a lot of different things," he said, not really wanting to go into detail. She already felt that he did too much, and his nominal job description didn't handle half of what he did on regular basis. He preferred to keep busy, and he took on as much as he needed to stay that way. "Any other questions?"

"Were you named after your uncle?"

"No. 'Nick' was actually not his real name. It was a name he acquired because of his signature," Nico explained. She looked at him. He set the laptop to the side, not wanting to have this conversation while he held an expensive piece of equipment. He had that one set up exactly as he needed it to be, and it would be a shame to have to replace it. "He was a thug. He would work for anyone who'd pay him to hurt someone. He liked hurting people. He would always issue one threat with a nick from his knife, and if that warning didn't work, then... he made the cut."

"Did he kill people?"

"I'm pretty sure he did, though no one ever managed to prove it."

She grew quiet, and he looked over at her. She was troubled by what he'd told her, and he shook his head as he reached out to touch her, his hand gently resting on her arm. "We don't have to discuss my past if it will upset you."

She shook her head. "It's not that. I don't want you to think you have to keep things from me because they're unsettling. I want you to feel that you can share whatever you want. I want to know more about you, as much as you're willing to share."

He cupped her cheek with his hand. "You might want to stop before you get any deeper into this. It's just going to get darker."

She nodded, reaching up to put her hand over his. "That's kind of what I was thinking. After I woke up again, I laid there for a while, and I couldn't stop thinking about our _break, _such as it is. We haven't hardly had a break. We fought. You thought I'd died. Then we wake up to a betting pool. We find a horse that needs help. Then we almost lost dinner because of your past. Situations are always going to find us. Our pasts will always be there. My marriage. My children. Your family. Everything."

"Yes," he agreed, frowning. Was this her moment for backing off? Her time to panic, pull away, push him away? He would let her go, if that was what she wanted. He knew that it would hurt, but he could still protect her even if they weren't together. "Danielle—"

She leaned over and kissed him. "We had to make this time to be alone, to have time to breathe, to _think. _And even here, even out in the middle of nowhere, we still have one crisis after another. It's impossible to find that time."

"Yes, it has been difficult to balance."

"I'm beginning to think it's not about balance. That line from the serenity prayer—I think everyone knows it—the wisdom to accept the things we can change, courage to change what we can, and wisdom to know the difference. Even if you don't believe in god, the words have power. We all need to know what we can change and what we can't, and we need to have the strength to change them. We both have that strength. I think we have the wisdom, too, for the most part. Meaning... we know that life isn't going to change for us. We know that we have to make the time. To... take the moment."

"The moment?"

She kissed him again, almost dragging him down on top of her, and he understood. He placed his hands on her arms, leaning back for a moment and studying her. "Are you sure about this? It hasn't been that long since this started between us, not long since you signed those papers, and only the second day that we have been here."

"How long will we wait for a perfect moment to come? For that time when we're not in the middle of a situation or a crisis or surrounded by people? When I'm not emotionally vulnerable or you're not?" she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment, her cheeks red. "It's never going to be the right time. Even now... the way I brought this up, the questions I asked before—the moment is gone and the romance is gone and we're not—"

"Part of wanting you is that the fact that it doesn't... shut off. We may be in the middle of a situation, we may be fighting or hurting, but underneath that, it's still there. Sometimes it's easier to ignore. Sometimes it isn't."

"You have a _lot _of self-control, don't you?"

"More than you." It wasn't that it was a contest, but she had proved herself the more impulsive of the two of them, overall, even if neither of them were what other people would consider laid back or relaxed. She wasn't always thinking three steps ahead, but he usually was.

"Even... now?" she asked, her hand slipping under his shirt. Her fingers moved along his skin hesitantly, unaware of how seductive such a seemingly small thing was.

He smiled as he shook his head, leaning down to kiss her. "No. Not now."


	41. A Happy Ending

**We Have a Situation**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,945  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Nico/Dani  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> References something from 1x11, but goes AU in the middle of 1x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> She thinks he thinks everything is a situation. Trouble is, he's right. She just doesn't know it yet.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So, epilogue time. Yeah, I'm calling this the epilogue. I got everything I felt I needed to wrapped up, everyone made an appearance, and I got my corny ending. Yes, ENDING. It's done. I have a few outtakes, one crackfic, and there's a vague possibility of a sequel, but this is definitely done.

* * *

><p><strong>A Happy Ending<strong>

"Okay, if your kisses created a monster before, now... oh, it's been said so many times and it's usually an exaggeration, but I really don't think we should leave this bed," Dani said, stretching out . His eyes never left her, not for a second. The intensity made her whole body feel warm. Again. "Nico, I... Stop looking at me like that unless you're planning on doing something about it."

"Your words are tempting but impractical. There are too many reasons why it is impossible for us to remain in this bed forever. Food, water, assorted other needs of the physical body, not to mention the various responsibilities that we have. Your children. Your patients. My family. The horse."

"Do you have to send him away? Isn't there another option?"

"The herd won't take him back, and now that someone's been feeding him, he won't survive on his own. It's best that he go to someone who will take care of him full time. The stables here are in no shape to support that, and gentling a mustang takes a concentrated effort and strict adherence to the guidelines. We have no one here that does that, but I have located a farm in Virginia with previous experience in caring for horses like this one," he told her. "The animal will be well cared for."

Dani nodded. "I know. It's not that I don't trust you. I know you're doing the best that you can for him. I just... want to keep him around for longer. That's selfish of me. I kept thinking—as long as we were here, we could keep an eye on him."

"The vet doesn't think that he should travel right away, so he won't leave the area immediately. You can visit him," Nico said, and she smiled at him. He touched her face. "He should be here by now, so I should—"

"Stay right here. That's what you should do," she said, pulling him close again. "If the vet was here, he'll come to the door. You don't have to anticipate him. He's not one of the people you have to put on an image for, and... I want you to stay."

"After last night, you should be exhausted."

"A bit sore. I haven't had that kind of workout in a while," she admitted. He looked at her. She frowned. "What, do you need me to say that what you and I did was better than my night with Matt?"

"I think that Donnally is a subject that should not _ever _come up when we are alone together."

She laughed a little. "You really don't like him, do you?"

"He is a good trainer. The team likes him. He's a bit too... clean for me. He can be that way, and maybe that's what irritates me about him. I never had that luxury, and I get very annoyed when he questions my methods."

"He does?"

"He used to. You're the only one that does anymore," Nico reminded her. He had reacted differently when she challenged him, but then, she was _not _Matt. She knew that. "Or you used to be. I am going to shower, and after that I'll start breakfast. By then, the vet will be at the door."

She sighed. "So... The mood is completely gone? I didn't—I was only teasing about Matt, and the thing is that Matt and I only had the one night and I didn't stay with him and I'm still here now and I don't—Matt was fun and flirty and it was right after the divorce and Ray and I had not really been—compared to Ray anyone would have been _amazing—_and so it being good with Matt wasn't really a surprise—not that last night was a surprise, but I'd been pretty close to expecting perfection and I think I was—Oh, god. What did I just—I have to—just go shower. I need a few minutes to... sew my mouth shut or something."

"That would a shame considering everything that you do with your mouth."

"What, like make a fool of myself?" Dani asked, and he gave her a look, not one of his usual ones, but still pointed. Her mouth dropped open again. Was he... talking about what she thought he was? That... She couldn't hardly believe she'd _done _that. She _had _gotten bolder as the night went on. "Nico..."

"You said you were expecting... perfection. What did you get?"

"I told you that I didn't want to leave the bed."

"Yes, but that's not the same as how well it met your expectations," he said, and she shook her head. This was not what she was expecting this morning, that was for sure. She'd kind of expected him to be practical and want to get up rather than spend their entire day right here, but the accidental conversation about Matt and then the babbling and now this...

"Do I have to spell it out?"

He shrugged. "How you answer is up to you. As is whether or not you answer."

"Not answering you would give you the wrong idea," she said. "I don't want you to have the wrong idea because... well, you were right about creativity and even though my ankle isn't healed and I kept accidentally touching sore spots on your back... That was as close to perfect as it gets. Though... maybe I should ask you because we discussed before that I have less experience."

"Experience doesn't necessarily mean that I would know better. Isn't the best judge the other party?" Nico asked with that same intensity that made her glad there was a bed underneath her because she would have melted right there.

"I shouldn't ask, but can you have the vet come a bit later, please?"

"We'll make time."

* * *

><p>"I'm not ready to be home," Dani said, opening her front door. She looked around, a half-smile on her face. "I missed it, but then again... I don't know. There will be so many people, more situations, no time for a break..."<p>

"We'll make time," Nico told her, guiding her toward the kitchen and—she was certain—the nearest chair. She would be glad when her ankle was finally fully healed and she was able to do things on her own again. She loved being with Nico, she really did, but she didn't like being dependent on him. She would have liked to have been able to walk the nature preserve on her own, to do more than sit near the fence and watch the horses. She wanted to be able to fend for herself, to cook—not that Nico was a bad cook, but there were so many things she'd taken for granted before her ankle.

"Making time. That's going to be our new motto now, is it?" Dani asked, and he shrugged slightly, just before the door opened again.

"See? I told you I heard someone down here, Ray Jay," Lindsay said, shaking her head at her brother. Dani smiled at her and opened her arms for a hug. Lindsay rolled her eyes, but she came over and gave her one anyway. "Mom, you can let go any time now."

"Sorry," Dani said, moving on to her son. Ray Jay smiled a little as he gave her a hug. "I missed you. Both of you. How long have you been home?"

"Not long. We were just here to pick up a few things and—"

"And you were hoping your mother would not notice the new vehicle that you drove here in?" Nico asked, causing them both to jump guiltily. They looked over at him like they hadn't realized that he was there. What, they'd thought that he'd just leave her? Not Nico. Not after that incident with the bathtub.

That wasn't even the big issue. She folded her arms over her chest. "New car?"

Lindsay winced. "Well... Dad was all upset and freaked out because he suddenly got it in his head that we like your new guy better than him—and that's not true, by the way—"

"Of course not," Nico agreed, and Dani gave him a look. He shrugged.

"—So he got me a car," Lindsay finished. Dani stared at her. "He signed me up for a driving school, too, but I haven't actually driven anywhere. Ray Jay did. Not me."

Dani blinked and forced herself to swallow. Oh, he did _not. _He did not get to buy her children's affections—and wasn't only a month ago that he was trying to file for spousal support? Was Ray _kidding _her? He was not going to get away with this. "I am going to—"

"Danielle," Nico began, touching her shoulders gently, and she looked up at him. He lowered his lips to her ear. "Threaten to kill your ex-husband in private, where the children can't hear you. In the meantime, know that there are ways to ensure that your daughter does not drive the car until she has a license. Some problems can be impossible to pin down even for expert mechanics."

She smiled at him. He had such a devious mind. It was perfect. "I love you."

"What?" Lindsay demanded, her eyes widening with horror as she looked back at her brother. He looked about as stunned as his sister did. Dani sighed. She didn't know that she should have said that in front of the children, not yet. They weren't ready for her to be in love. They were barely able to cope with the divorce and dating at this point.

"It's..." Dani tried to find the right words. How did she explain this? She had feelings for a man that was not their father, and how would they react to that? How could they? They'd be confused, angry, and hurt.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Jeanette called, interrupting them. Dani turned with relief, watching her best friend poke her head into the doorway. She smiled warmly. "Oh, wow, _what _a trip. I think we bought out an entire line. Tall, Dark, and Scary, I don't suppose you have any of your goons around to help us carry in things from the car?"

"They could push one of the buttons," Juliette suggested, following Jeanette into the room. Her outfit was almost outrageous, hanging off one shoulder and looking like it only covered half of her body. She held up a hand. "Relax, Uncle Nico. It only _looks _like I'm wearing half the dress. See?"

He shook his head. "And you want to look like you're half-naked?"

"It's just this light. I missed you, too, Control Freak," she said, crossing over to kiss his cheek. "You look better. Less... tired. Happier."

"You're imagining things, and the answer to your implied question is that it's none of your business," Nico told her. "Let's see about this stuff that you bought, then. You might have more than Danielle's house can store, and if you do, then you are going to have to start looking for a new place of your own."

"What? I have to leave? I don't want to go—I'm not ready to—Dani, please, I don't have to go, do I? Lindsay? Ray Jay? Are you going to kick me out, too? I can put some of the stuff in storage or sell it or—"

"Juliette, calm down," Dani said, giving Nico a look. He caught her before she could leave. "You don't have to go."

"I don't?" Juliette asked, looking up at her uncle. He nodded. She sighed. "I really freaked out there. I'm sorry. They... They reduced the dose on the pills, and I think I've been kind of weird ever since."

"It's to be expected. It'll pass," Nico assured her. "How much did you buy, anyway?"

"Too much. And don't think you fooled me for a second," she said, pointing a finger at him. "No way Jeanette had that much money to spend on me. You cheated and gave me access to the trust fund again, didn't you?"

"That's your money. You can spend it as you please—as long as it's not on drugs or worthless men," Nico answered, going out of the kitchen with her. Dani wished she could have gone with them, offered to help, but no one was going to let her do that even though her ankle was a lot better now.

"So... What's with the tension here?" Jeanette asked, looking around at the three of them. "Come on, Santinos. Spill."

"Ray bought Lindsay a car."

"Mom's in love with the scary guy."

Jeanette somehow managed to get that even though they all spoke at the same time. "Okay. Car, awesome but a little early. And of course she does. She's been in love with him for longer than she wanted to admit. Important thing to remember, kids, is that he loves her right back and he treats her right. When he doesn't, _then _you get upset. Your father let her down there. She deserves someone who will love her and take care of her, and your father didn't want to be that man. He's still your father. Nothing changes that. Your mom even still loves him. But she can't be with him. Nico's not a bad man. We even have proof."

Lindsay sighed. "It's just a lot to take in. And she's so going to take my car away."

"I never said that," Dani began. "The car is not to be driven by you until you're licensed, but that is another issue entirely. And I know that the dating and the divorce and the papers are all huge things right now. That was why we all got away for a while. We had some time, we cleared our heads, and if we need more time, we'll take it. We'll get through this together. I told you already that I don't expect you to replace your father or think of Nico as one. You don't even have to like him. But you do have to get along with him because he's not going away."

"Mostly, we _do _like him," Ray Jay began, and Lindsay frowned at him. "We do. Lindsay took longer to accept him, but I think he's decent, and I've seen the way he looks at you. Jeanette's right. He loves you. So... I can take him being around. It's not easy, but he's not making it hard on us, either. It's not like he's tried to take Dad's role in anything. Not even the panic buttons. That's his _job, _Linds. TK told me the players with kids—all of those kids have the same keychains or security details. Devin's got one of them, too. I don't know. I don't hate Nico. I don't know that I'll ever love him, but hell, he's not that bad. And I like Juliette. I like having her around. She's fun. Bitter sometimes, hyper sometimes, depressed sometimes, but she's not that different from any of us. She even got you to play a video game. That's... big. I think she's good for us."

"You're definitely good for her," Dani told them. Lindsay shrugged. Dani figured that was as good that she was going to get from her daughter right now.

"Yo, Santinos! You all in here? Door's open, so I'm guessing so," TK's voice called out to them, and Dani groaned. She couldn't believe that Nico would have left the door open, but Juliette might have. "Hey, look. Everyone's back. We got good timing, D."

"Yeah," Devin said, smiling at them. "Hi."

"TK, I know that the door was open, but I—"

"Doctor D, I gotta tell you, man, I had _nothing _to do with that betting pool, I swear. I would have put some money down on something, but after I saw the stuff, I didn't. I'm gonna kick some ass when I find out who was behind it, though. I've been talking to a few guys and I think I'm getting close to an answer, and when I do, I'm going to open up a can of—"

"You don't have to do anything, Terrence. I have names, and I'm going to kill them and feed them to my panther," Nico said as he reentered the room. "Starting with a certain assistant trainer who set up the pool in the first place."

TK frowned. "You're... kidding, right? Doctor D, he's joking, isn't he? At least about the... panther, right?"

Dani just shrugged. She didn't know how long she'd keep a straight face, but she was going to try. TK shook his head at her. "You are spending _way _too much time with him, you know that? Now you're gonna be messing with my head like he does."

Dani laughed, shaking her head. "No one can do that quite like Nico."

"Lindsay, come help me put away my clothes," Juliette called from the doorway. "I'll show you what I got you."

"You got me something? Really?"

Dani winced as her daughter left with Nico's niece, thinking she was not going to like what Juliette ended up giving her. Jeanette gave her a look of pity. "Okay, I confess. She bought the dress just to see what Tall, Dark, and Scary's reaction would be. She didn't even like it. What she got for Lindsay can't be bad. Promise."

"You know, as nice as it was to get away, I kind of missed all this," Dani admitted with a tired smile. "It's crazy, but it's my life."

"And you thrive on chaos," Nico reminded her as he came up behind her. She rolled her eyes, reaching for his hand and pulling his arm around her. It was good to be home. Even if it was crowded and full and a little tense. This was her family. This was where she belonged. She had everything she wanted.

Except, maybe, some time.

* * *

><p>"Where are we going?"<p>

Nico's eyes left the road for a moment, looking over at her, and she waited, but he went back to the road again. She always had to ask. He was coming to realize that it wasn't lack of trust, just that never ending need to know, to understand. She always needed to make sense of whatever situation she found herself in, and when there were loose threads, she picked them apart until she found what she was looking for.

"This really isn't funny, Nico. I hate when you do this to me. An answer would be nice."

"Patience is something you might want to work on."

She sighed. "You haven't said anything since we got in the car. We haven't been back for that long, and TK would have called me, so he's not the situation you called me away for. Juliette's doing fine. She and Lindsay have been almost inseparable since Juliette gave her that shirt—and it's an amazing shirt; don't get me wrong; I'm actually jealous—but that means that she's not having problems or anything, even with the new dose. Ray Jay's supposed to be at a study group but is really on a date, and I'm going to have to decide if I'm going to confront him about that. Jeanette has a new man that she's not telling me about, but she will soon, and that's not something you'd pull me aside for anyway, so... I can't figure it out. What is this situation? Is it Gabriella? Did she change her mind about the divorce or the rehab again?"

"It has nothing to do with my sister," Nico said. "She still intends to divorce Marshall, eventually, and she's been moving money around, supposedly sober while doing it, but she hasn't gone to rehab again. Not yet."

"Okay, so... what? What could this situation possibly be? Another player? Bobby Caldwell again? Booz? What is going on?"

Nico turned into the parking lot and pulled into a space. "We're almost there."

She shook her head again. "I don't understand why you can't just tell me. I could use a bit to prepare for whatever it is we're going up against. You're not taking me away from everyone just to tell me that Shadow died or something, are you?"

Nico frowned. "No. I wouldn't do that. I'd talk to you in private, but that could have been done anywhere. The horse is fine. He's almost ready to go to his new owners. They have assured me that they will update me with the animal's progress and that visitors are always welcome."

"Good," she agreed. She still frowned when he opened his door and got out. She opened hers as he crossed around to help her out of the car. "I really have run out of possible situations that we have to handle right now, so I have no idea what we're doing here."

He smiled at her, leading her into the building. She was quickly losing patience with him, but they would be at their destination soon enough, and he was not going to tell her before then. It needed to be like this. She would understand it all very soon.

They walked into the elevator and let the doors close behind them. She looked up at the ceiling and back at him. "I don't know why you can't just tell me."

"I don't know why you can't wait a few more seconds until we're on the right floor. Down a couple doors, and then we'll be there."

"It's not my birthday. Can't be a surprise party, so... I really am giving up now."

He laughed a little as the elevator's doors opened, guiding her down the hallway to the door and opening it. He waved her inside, and she frowned again as he shut the door. "Wait. I know where we are now. This is your apartment. Why are we here?"

"I told you we had a situation."

"Yes, but you still haven't told me what it is."

He closed the distance between them and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding onto him until neither of them could breathe. She pulled back first, catching her breath. "So... this is your idea of making time, is it?"

"Blatant abuse of the situation equals emergency impression that everyone has, yes," he agreed, and she laughed, leaning her head against his chest. "Though if you consider that we haven't had a chance to do that since we got back, maybe it does qualify as an emergency."

"I would classify it as one," she told him, kissing him again. "I didn't know how we were going to find time to ourselves again."

"We can't do this every time. Some situations really are emergencies, and calling this a situation blurs the lines—a lot—but if it's only an occasional abuse or just a one time thing, I don't think it would be too much of a problem."

"I am all for blurring the lines right now, Nico."

He smiled at her again before picking her up and carrying her into his bedroom.


End file.
